


Just You and Me

by bigworldsmallcat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bisexuality, Bottom Draco, Bottom Draco Malfoy, Consensual Sex, Denial, Denial of Feelings, Depression, Drarry, Drarryland: A Drarry Game/Fest, Drinking, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Angst, Gay Sex, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Porn with Feelings, Post-War, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Top Harry, Top Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:20:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29064972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigworldsmallcat/pseuds/bigworldsmallcat
Summary: Its 10 years after the war and Harry Potter is still fresh in Draco's mind. When Draco sees him at a pub for the first time since Hogwarts, how is he supposed to let him go?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 30
Kudos: 97





	1. chapter 1

Draco wasn’t always like this. Cold, aloof. He was actually a very happy young child and if it was not for his parents impending expectations on him, he might have actually been a decent lad. Of course this isn’t something that anyone else understood - or cared to listen to even - particularly because of his role in the war that he begrudgingly took place in. 

He had always been jealous of Harry, hated him even. Always surrounded by friends and chosen family who understood him and had similar mindsets. And for him to be constantly questioning why they would want to risk their lives or die for him was even more infuriating, Draco wished he had someone who was willing to do that for him. There was of course that one time in the room of requirement but that didn’t count, did it? It was just Harry doing what he always did - playing the hero and expecting something for it. Well Draco wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. For all he cared Harry could have left him there to die. Draco had struggled with depression for a majority of his life, but he was grown now and out of his parents house so it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be. His friends forced him to see a therapist, he didn’t even know wizard therapist’s existed, and that made it a lot better. Most days though, when his mind was too loud and the memories of the war blinded his senses, he could always brew a potion or two or three to make it stop. It wasn’t the most sustainable course of action but got the job done when he didn’t want to be a burden to his friends. 

Draco rinsed his face quickly in the restaurant bathroom and patted it dry before getting mentally prepared to head back to his table with Marie, Oliver, and Noah. He loved hanging out with them but in the last few years everyone had been settling down and getting married, god forbid they start talking about having kids soon, and so all of the questions directed at Draco were about his love life, or lack thereof. Luckily, ever since he came out, all of the questions had been about men, so at least he didn’t have to pretend there was this girl from work which they never got to meet, for obvious reasons. Draco began walking out of the bathroom and was faced with the warm grins of his friends.

“So, you never did tell us Draco, have you met anyone? It’s been three months since we’ve last got together like this, surely you must be on the lookout” said Marie. Easy for her to ask, she’s been with Oliver since her school days and had never really had to date. 

“Come on Marie, don’t pester him, surely he’d tell us if there was anyone” Noah complied as he gave Draco a wink. Butterflies rose in his stomach but he mentally shut them down. Noah was far from straight, Draco knew this from their drunken nights after the pub where one thing led to another and they ended up waking up the next morning with a pounding headache and a lot of regret. It wasn’t enough to end their friendship but placed them at an awkward in-between that they had chosen to not mention to Marie and Oliver. Not to mention Noah had a girlfriend, a long term one at that, which made Draco feel all the more guilty for whatever feelings he had been trying to suppress ever since they first hooked up. 

“You guys know me, I just wanna focus on my work and maybe fuck a bloke here and there when the feeling arises” Draco joked, half of him being serious and the other half wanting to make himself seem aloof so Noah wouldn’t somehow see right through his cool exterior. 

The night continued on and the questions about Draco’s love life had luckily stopped, it was nearing the closing time of the restaurant and Marie and Oliver had been eye fucking each other since their first finished bottle of wine. They made an excuse, something about Oliver having work early tomorrow morning and Marie needing to feed her fish and quickly wandered out of the restaurant, giggling amongst themselves. That just left Noah, Draco, and 4 empty wine bottles, never a good combination. They were sitting across from each other, ankles slightly grazing. Draco looked up from his glass and was met by light green eyes and a shackle of brown hair, the things that got him wrapped up in this whole mess in the first place, and after copious amounts of alcohol, made it very hard to resist his urge to invite Noah back to his apartment. He reached his arm slightly out and across the table and placed his fingers gently over Noah’s, holding his gaze and trying to search for reciprocation. They hadn’t said a word since Marie and Oliver left, and they usually didn’t need to, whatever they had was always unspoken about. 

As he rubbed his thumb over the palm of Noah’s hand, Noah drew back, breaking their stare and taking a large gulp of his wine. 

“Look, Draco.. I wanted to talk to you about something, I already mentioned it to Marie and Oliver and they were supportive and I hope that you will be too” 

Draco felt his chest get heavy, like his body was having a physical reaction to this sinking feeling that he wasn’t going to like what Noah is going to say next. 

“Aurora and I are um.. actually engaged, she doesn’t know about us and I ask you not to tell her. I love her, you know, and I really wanna marry her.” There it was, the conversation that Draco had felt coming for a few months now but was hoping it would be something along the lines of I’m leaving her for you, not the other way around. 

“So.. she doesn’t know?”

“No.”

“Oh. Wow. Okay.” Draco found himself stuttering. 

“That’s great I’m happy for you guys, really. I still feel like that might be something you would want to mention before you know, you get married and all that. Feels sorta unfair to Aurora if you ask me.” He was getting angry and he hated himself for showing any kind of emotion around Noah. 

“It’s not really all that deep though is it? I mean we only really shagged like a couple times really, and it didn’t really mean anything” Draco couldn’t tell whether to laugh or throw a fit. Did he really feel that way about the situation? He knew that they hadn’t talked about it but he always felt that there was a connection that they shared, he didn’t know until today that it was one sided. 

“Yeah. Of course. You’re right. Just forget I said anything, I won’t tell her don’t worry.” Draco half smiled and began to reach for his wallet in his pocket. He couldn’t stand to look at Noah any more and wanted out of this suffocating room. He placed enough money down to cover the bill and began to stand up, feeling the tears beginning to brim his eyes, he was quick to turn around and put on his coat. 

“Draco.. Are you sure that you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine mate, just tired is all” He was already walking away and basically running to the restaurant exit, hearing Noah continue to call his name behind him but he’d be damned if he let that fucker know that this news had affected him in any way. He pushed through the doors and apparated back to his apartment. 

~

As soon as he was in his apartment, Draco began to feel all of the emotions that had been building up since Noah first told him about the engagement. He had felt as though he had been stabbed in the stomach, and what made it even worse was that Draco never cared about his hookups. They were always just something to do so he didn’t have to endure living with his own thoughts when he was alone. He didn’t know what was so different this time. 

He stumbled into the kitchen, his face flushing up as he felt the alcohol he had consumed begin to fully take its effect. Draco poured himself a glass of scotch, clumsily tilting it up to his mouth. He just had to be drunk when they had that conversation, if he had been sober he would have been able to brush off the news as if it was just another random engagement he couldn’t care less about. But with his emotions heightened, and the expectation of some sort of hook up between the two of them tonight, it stung all the more. 

He sat down at his kitchen island and started nitpicking all of the mistakes he had made leading up to this night. Sleeping with him, enjoying it, continuing to do it several times when he knew that Noah didn’t feel the same way. Not to mention Aurora. How Noah could hide something like this from her, Draco couldn’t comprehend, unless it really was as meaningless to him as he had made it seem. 

Draco was mad. He was getting really mad. How did he let himself get here, and how could he sit around and cry about some bugger that doesn’t think twice about him? He was Draco fucking Malfoy and quite frankly, had a line up of men eager to be in his bed wherever he went. His drunken mind had decided then that the true solution to this issue was to go out to a pub and screw the first bloke he sees. Draco began stumbling up the stairs, he washed his face and put on his best muggle clothes, determined to prove to Noah that he didn’t give a single fuck about what him or his puny girlfriend were up to. He chugged the rest of his drink and apparated to the pub. 

~ 

Draco unbuttoned his shirt slightly as to give him more sex appeal, not like he needed it, he saw the looks that he was given by several of the men at the bar already. One of them had come up to him and offered to buy him a drink, he wasn’t exactly Draco’s type, but he wasn’t one to be picky at the moment. 

“How about shots instead?” Draco insisted, trying desperately to drunken himself up so he wouldn’t have to remember tonight. The man agreed and waved his hand to the bartender. Draco looked around the bar and admired the simplicity of it. He had chosen a muggle bar specifically for the anonymity, he wasn’t exactly famous but many people in the wizarding world knew of the Malfoy name, and the last thing he needed was a call from his father asking him why he was published in the The Daily Prophet doing some rather unspeakable things to another man. 

So, Draco had always preferred one night stands with muggles to keep himself out of such predicaments. He turned around and did a shot with the random bloke that had offered them to him, he never really bothered to get their names as rarely was there a second date. Draco was getting annoyed at the slow pace that this muggle in particular wanted to go at, asking him questions about his job and childhood, when all Draco really wanted to do was to have somebody to pass the time with so he could pass out and continue living his life again in the morning. Draco decided to take matters into his own hands and stood up from the barstool, grabbing the strangers wrist and insisting he follow him to the hall where they could have a little more privacy. 

“How about we skip the small talk hm?” Draco groaned into the man's ear, hoping that he would get the hint that a healthy relationship wasn't something he was looking for tonight. He complied and pushed Draco up against the wall of the pub, he grabbed his face and brought it up to his, their lips being brought together, both now with a mutual hunger. The man began to trace Draco’s jaw, then his neck, beginning to run his hands against the curve of his torso.

“Potter? That’s a weird last name, never hear it.” Called out a voice from a few feet away. 

Draco’s eyes flew open. There was no way. No way that Harry fucking Potter was in this pub. His pub. He almost forgot about the guy he was with, who was beginning to get on his knees and was kissing down Draco’s abdomen. Draco pushed him off and buttoned up his pants, curious but anxious to walk further towards the voice he heard. 

“Where the hell are you going?” The man exclaimed, Draco ignored him and continued walking. His eyes wandered quickly against all the seats of the bar looking for the familiar head of brown hair, and surely enough, there he was. The man he spent his entire adolescence hating. 

Harry was laughing at something the other man said, throwing his head back and having an effortless appearance to him. He had grown a beard and had filled up generously, his shirt fitting his arms nicely. Draco felt like he had seen a ghost, he had been staring for far too long and as he expected, Harry met his gaze soon enough. Harry’s smile had dropped almost instantly as he saw the realization come to him. Draco was not about to this right now, not tonight. He turned around quickly, walking back towards the man he left in the corridor. 

“Lets go.” 

“What?” 

“Do you want to fuck or not?” he exclaimed, the irritation thick in his voice. The man quickly rose and began following Draco to the outside of the pub.

“Hail a taxi will you?” Draco instructed, drawing a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it in his mouth. Gazing slightly back through the windows backcasted with the amber ambient light of the bar. Harry had looked better, happy. It made Draco wonder what his life was like nowadays, even Draco was able to say that he had gotten significantly more attractive since their days at Hogwarts. Although, whether he was able to admit it or not, Harry had always been his type. 

“Are you coming?” said a voice from behind him. Draco nodded slightly and stomped on the butt of his cigarette. Turning away from Harry, he stepped into the cab.


	2. chapter 2

Drinking away his problems had always seemed like a good idea until Draco was faced with a pounding headache and felt his entire body slimy with alcohol. He woke up to an empty bed. At least he had the good sense to kick out his latest endeavour last night so he didn’t have to face the awkwardness that would arise when the sun was out and they were both sober. Sitting up on his bed, he reached for his bedside table where he picked up a potion that would help with this disgusting feeling in his body. Although Hogwarts was never somewhere he really wanted to be, or go back to, he was grateful it sparked his interest in potions, as they have come to save him time and time again. He gulped down the contents of the small vile and closed his eyes as he felt relief, the pressure from his head easing and his stomach unturning from the knots he felt not minutes earlier. He looked over at the watch on his bedside table and saw it read 8:24, not ideal when you work at 9 but Draco had never been one to look wretched no matter how long he took to get ready. He pushed himself off the bed with a groan and forced himself to the bathroom, hoping into the shower once realizing the state of his hair. 

He continued to get ready, drying himself off, styling his hair, getting dressed from his obscene amount of muggle clothing that he knew flattered his body in the best way. As he was finished, he walked to his kitchen, casting a spell to quickly make himself food. Normally he loved cooking, it was the only thing that ever forced him to slow down. The process of taking immense care while preparing a meal brought him peace and steadied his mind, already being late however, he quickly ate his breakfast and apparated to work. 

As he got to work, he waved his greetings to his colleagues and proceeded into his office, the events of last night still weighed heavily upon him and the last thing he wanted to do was make small talk about what everyone did this weekend or their plans for after work. He plopped down into his chair and leaned back, closing his eyes. He had always loved being at work, it gave him structure and felt like it gave him purpose. His work as an alchemist had felt like an obvious career path to follow, but had actually taken him several years to arrive at. Initially he started training as an auror, with the majority of his life forcing him to focus on battle and offence, it felt like the only path he could take. The job took its toll on him severely, causing nightmares of the war and a bad case of insomnia on most days, not to mention, nearly everyone who had been in the program with him had heard of his childhood endeavours and couldn’t trust him enough to work with him properly. He had met Oliver then, he was the only one who gave him a chance, and Draco was grateful for it. He had met Marie soon after and despite their rocky start as she had always been aggressively against the notion of blood purity, but after a few conversations explaining his childhood, they had grown to become friends as well. Then Draco made what he felt was one of the best and healthiest decisions for him in his life, he quit his job and began to pursue a career in alchemy. His friends were surprised to say the least, he had never confided in him about the troubles he had while being an auror, so for them it felt seemingly out of the blue. 

He was now working as a pharmaceutical alchemist, spending his days testing out and attempting to invent a variety of potions to solve medical issues or reverse specific hexes. It had been extremely rewarding and felt just stimulating enough without arising feelings of trauma from his past. Currently he was working on a potion to clot blood at the area of a wound in order to stop the patient from bleeding out entirely, it had been difficult and he had felt stumped for several weeks now. 

What Draco felt he truly needed was a break, a vacation maybe, anything to allow him to just relax apart from everyone in his life, Noah specifically. He still didn’t know how he was going to act once they had to finally see each other again. He already had about 3 missed calls and a couple of texts from him asking to talk, all of which he had ignored. Draco didn’t understand what there was to talk about, they had never been exclusive - obviously - and Noah had every right to go and propose to his girlfriend. 

Perhaps he would take a vacation, it did feel awfully sad to try and go alone, but his need for escapism was immense and he didn’t know how he was supposed to continue on without some sort of hiatus from the troubles of his relatively mundane existence. 

“You look awfully glum, don’t tell me you’ve run out of hangover potion again, you need to take those far too often for your wellbeing” said a voice at the door with a smirk. It was Aaron Turner, his only real friend at work and one he valued immensely” 

“Don’t even get me started, you would not believe the weekend I’ve had” Draco sighed while dropping his head into his hands. Aaron was someone he truly felt he could confide in, maybe it's because Aaron also struggled with parents who were death eaters as a child and they could relate to each other through their trauma. 

“Alright, alright, tell your old pal everything” Aaron chuckled as he pulled up a seat next to Draco and rested his hand on his shoulder. Draco nodded and began to tell him everything, the dinner with his old friends, the engagement, drinking far too much, and even down to seeing Potter at the bar. He could even admit what strange feelings it had stirred up seeing Potter after so long, especially when he had gotten significantly more attractive. It had always been so easy to talk to Aaron, he had been a great listener and always validated his emotions. 

“Jesus Draco, some weekend you’ve had.” Aaron exclaimed, then offering up exactly what Draco needed. 

“What do you say we take the day off of work, I’m sure I can make something up to Greg about how my aunt died and I need you there for emotional support or something. We can grab a pint, talk about this Noah bastard of yours?” Aaron asked with a warm smile. Draco nodded, grateful he didn’t have to actually use his brain to do work today. 

~

“So Potter huh? Did not expect you to be starstruck by him” Aaron joked, pushing himself slightly into Draco. 

“Oh shut up, I was not starstruck. It was just weird to see him after so long, I was caught off guard, besides after all of the news about him in The Daily Prophet saying he had come out and broken it off with that Weasley girl, it was still a surprise to see him at a gay muggle bar” Draco explained, picturing the image of Harry laughing effortlessly at the bar in his head. 

He was unsure why seeing Potter after so long had this effect on him, he couldn’t have cared less if Potter was in his presence when they were in school, so why did it matter now? He stared at Aaron to find a glimpse of explanation in his eyes. Draco had never paid attention much to how Aaron presented himself, sure he was a fair bloke, he had dirty blonde hair and a solid body on him, but nothing that Draco would ever see as more than platonic. He was grateful for this as he was not one to shit where he ate. His mind wandered back to Potter. Draco noticed this and put it to a stop, this was the last thing he needed. He thought he was rid of the prick back when he left Hogwarts, and having him in his life again, whether in his head or in reality, was not something he was eager to repeat. 

Aaron and Draco spent another hour or so at the pub, both slightly tipsy, and had decided to go back to Draco’s apartment for lunch. As they paid for the bill and started walking out towards the street, Draco began to get his wand out. 

“Woah, you should know better than to apparate while drunk dipshit. Let’s go, we’re walking.” Aaron said as he snatched Draco’s wand from his hand, shoving it into his pocket. Draco grunted in disagreement but knew it was wiser. 

The two of them began their walk, stopping by random shops to kill time, it's not like they were in any rush. They walked past one in particular, one that reminded him of when he would shop in Diagon Alley before every school year as a kid, they had books and random scratchy sweaters and the new Nimbus broom. He looked in awe as he realized just how much more developed the brooms had gotten since the last time he had rode one. He didn’t realize until then just how much he had missed flying, it was one of the things that allowed him to forget his problems as a kid and gave him a sense of freedom. A feeling he was desperately craving for at the moment. He looked at the price tag and thought otherwise, Draco was well off but still could not justify spending that amount of money on a broom when he lived in London and rarely played Quidditch. Regardless, he stared at the beauty with doe eyes before turning around and continuing their walk home. Aaron had noticed him staring but chose not to say anything, Draco was glad, he was tired of talking. 

They were nearing the end of the street and they were laughing at some joke that Aaron had made, before Aaron abruptly stopped. 

“What's your deal? Are you ok?” Draco asked, still giggling slightly, the alcohol had made it much easier for him to laugh, especially around friends. 

Aaron tapped his arm, eyes wide, and pointed towards a person walking down the street towards them. It was Potter. Again. Second time in two days felt excessive and had dropped Draco’s mood nearly immediately. This time however, Draco decided to be an adult and greet Harry, after all, they weren’t teenagers anymore. He waited till Harry got a bit further up the street and noticed him, Harry’s eyes did a double take to make sure it really was Malfoy that he was seeing, before he recontained his cool and dusted off his shirt. 

“Hello Potter, long time no see.” Draco said cooly, while simultaneously interlinking his hand with Aarons, receiving a perplexed look from Aaron and a glance down at the intertwined hands from Potter. He wasn’t sure why this was his first instinct but he continued. 

“Malfoy..how uh..how have you been?” Harry said, seemingly trying to regain composure. 

“Just brilliant personally, how’s the boy who lived going about his life?” Draco said, hearing the poison in his own voice. Force of habit he supposes. Harry stared into Draco, making him feel so exposed he might as well have been naked in the middle of the street. Harry broke his gaze before responding. 

“Fine. If you don’t mind, I’ll let you two enjoy your day.” As he pushed past the two of them, head down walking away quickly. 

“God that was awkward” Aaron sighed,

“Can’t believe I just met Harry Potter though” he giggled and Draco gave him a shove to the side. 

~

Aaron and Draco walked through the front door of his apartment, Draco still felt rather uncomfortable from his encounter with Potter. He didn’t know why he grabbed Aaron’s hand like that, it's not like Harry cared who he was dating, but given from his stares, it sort of felt like he might’ve. The thought popped out of his head nearly as fast as it popped in, he highly doubts Potter has given him as much as a second thought since Hogwarts. 

Draco sighed and made his way to the kitchen, picking up his mail and sorting through it. He noticed a particular envelope with a red trim. He pulled it out from the bunch, opening it carelessly. 

You have been formally invited to the joining of:

Noah George David and Aurora Elizabeth Williams

June 23

The words burned in Draco’s stomach as he read them. Aaron noticed Draco’s face drop and read the paper, sighing and placing his hand on Draco’s shoulder as he did. 

June wedding. How quaint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! Let me know how you're enjoying it so far :)


	3. chapter 3

The wedding was just a week away and Draco had been desperately clinging onto each day, hoping it wouldn’t pass on to the next. Having to go and be happy for Noah when he in reality quite resented him for having to face his emotions and on top of that, be rejected, was not something he was looking forward to. Although the last few months have been difficult, a flurry of strange men in his bed and too many times Aaron has had to come to his aid to get him out of his alcohol binging. Luckily, for the most part, that was a thing of the past. Apart from a few gruesome nights where he catches himself slipping back into those habits, he has been mostly healed from the incident. He knew it would still hurt being at the wedding and seeing him and Aurora live out their happy ever after - if it can even be called that considering all the things Noah is keeping from her - but they were friends first and good friends come to each other's weddings. So he had RSVP’d and was dreading the day. 

He had made plans with Aaron to go suit shopping later today as it was the weekend and although he had a plethora of suits to choose from, none felt fit to wear to the wedding of your ex fuck buddy. Draco threw on a pair of shorts and a casual shirt, knowing that the summer heat was blistering and nothing else would suffice. 

As he walked out of his room and headed towards the kitchen for an ice lolly before leaving to go meet Aaron, his front door swung open, making Draco feel as though his heart had jumped out of his chest. Aaron trotted in, a smile on his face. 

“Jesus Aaron! Do you ever knock?” Draco exclaimed, clutching his chest, with his eyes wide. 

“Good morning to you too, you should really get in the habit of locking that thing” Aaron joked, placing his keys down on the table. 

“Are those keys to my apartment? Where in the hell did you get those?” 

“Well, after having to pick up your drunk ass off of the washroom floor in the middle of the night so many times, I figured I might do both of us a favour and make myself a key” replied Aaron, grabbing himself a water bottle from the fridge and sitting down onto the barstool. 

He made a fair point so Draco just nodded in compliance. He pulled open the freezer and grabbed himself an ice lolly and began to unwrap it. The weather in London had reached such high temperatures in the last few days that not even the air conditioning in his apartment could save him from overheating. He shoved the lolly in his mouth catching the already melting contents with his tongue. He looked up at Aaron through his eyebrows to find him sitting with his mouth open, his eyes darting away once he realized Draco was looking. 

“Could you pass me one?” Aaron asked, clearing his throat slightly.

Draco leaned back into the freezer and threw Aaron another. Falling back into thought quickly after. 

~

They had decided to go to muggle stores to find the suit for Draco, the wizarding world was great for many things but clothing was sadly not one of them. They had been shopping for what felt like ages, especially considering they were both overheating and getting progressively more irritable. So far nothing had taken Draco’s interest, they were all too mundane or too flashy and he wanted to land in an effortless middle. They made their way into one last store, Draco getting ready to swear off going shopping and just chose some random suit from his closet. The only reason he had chosen to even give this store a chance was because there was a particular suit in the window that seemed like it could be promising. It was a tan colour which Draco felt would compliment him well, he wasn’t one for drastic contrasts. They entered the store and he slipped into a changing room to try on the suit, eager to get the situation over with and to get home as soon as he could. He pulled on the pants, turning around to take a glimpse of how his ass would look in them, the pants hugged him well, accentuating all the right places. He put on the rest of the suit, in awe that he actually found one that gave him exactly what he was looking for, it fit his shoulders perfectly, making him look structured and put together. Draco stepped out of the changing room, doing a tiny twirl for Aaron, smiling from ear to ear. 

“Wow. That is definitely the one. Thank God, I thought we were going to be here forever” Aaron said as he came closer to admire the finer details of the clothing. 

Draco sighed in relief, to be quite honest, if it wasn’t for Aaron, he would’ve left hours ago, but hanging out with him was effortless and fun, something he looked forward to whenever they made plans. He changed back into his own clothes and walked to the register to pay, glad that the shopping trip was finally over. 

They walked out of the store in unison, both sweaty and dreading to walk back out into the heat. Considering they were in a relatively crowded muggle street, they couldn’t apparate just anywhere, they made their way into an alley, excited to get home. 

~

Draco rose from bed after a night of turning in his sleep, unable to stay still or get any bit of rest. This always happened the night before an event that he was anxious for, the night before he was directed to kill Dumbledore, he hadn’t even managed to get a single ounce of sleep. Although this was less extreme, his chest was still heavy and his mind racing. It was the morning of the wedding and his brain had gone through nearly every possible scenario that could occur, as if that would make him any more prepared. He didn’t have to be at the venue until around 4 pm, so he still had the whole day to overthink and get more and more anxious as the time drew closer. It was 7 in the morning, far too early for Malfoy but knowing himself, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep any longer. He decided on working on a potion for work in the meantime, hoping to drown himself in his work so as to avoid any confrontation with his own thoughts. 

Over the years, Draco had made sure that every apartment that he has lived in included an office of some sort, on the days that day drinking wasn’t socially acceptable or it was too early to go and pick up a man at a bar, he needed some other sort of distraction. For him, it had always been his work, and it was effective, except for on the days when his brain was cloudy and felt like it was filled to the brim with his own thoughts. Unfortunately for Draco, this just happened to be one of those days, he didn’t even have the energy to get dressed later in the day or make himself breakfast. He crawled back into bed, knowing that sleep wasn’t an option, but needing the comfort of a soft atmosphere. Whenever these emotional episodes hit, Draco was a mess of a person. They often lasted for days on end, but in this case, it wasn’t an option. He still had until 4pm though so he took full advantage of the staring at the ceiling slump he was in. Hoping that if he lay there long enough, his heart would release and he would feel a weight fall off his shoulders. This moment never came. It was nearly 7 hours later and Draco was still in bed, feeling emotionally drained and unprepared for whatever he had planned for tonight. He regretted accepting the invitation, thinking of any possible way he could excuse himself and stay in a slump for the rest of the day. Yet, he knew that this was something that was unavoidable, if he didn’t go to the wedding he would still have to face Noah and Aurora at some point, and it would be painful all the same. 

Draco sat up in the bed, trying to get to the shower but feeling his feet weighed down by bricks, feeling as if he was stuck in his own body unable to move. He sat in silence for a moment, getting up slowly, using his muscles for the first time in hours. He stayed in the shower for longer than necessary, letting the water hit his shoulders and run down his body, eyes closed and head leaning back. Once he finished, he had felt better. Draco knew that a shower was always beneficial in episodes like this but getting himself to actually go was brutally hard. He slowly began to get ready. Blow drying and putting product in his hair, shaving, and slowly starting to get dressed. He went to get his phone off his dresser, in the midst of his day, he had avoided going on his phone entirely, partly because of his physical inability to, but also because he didn’t want to talk to anyone. He opened his phone to several missed texts from Aaron, asking him if he was okay and if he wanted to talk. Although he appreciated the concern, at times like these, he felt that Aaron was overbearing, he didn’t want to talk and didn’t feel like being vulnerable at all really. He decided to leave his phone at home, not answering Aarons texts. He took a final look at himself in the mirror, surprised he was able to get himself so put together after a day of slumming in bed, and apparated to the venue. 

~

The location was gorgeous, it was held at an old rustic barn, aged with vines and worn out wood. They had candles as ambient lighting and a general bohemian feel to the wedding. It was all very romantic and quite not the place to go alone. Draco felt awkward and out of place. Luckily, he spotted Marie and Oliver at a nearby table and went to greet them, glad he could have some sort of buffer at the event so he didn’t have to seem lonely for too long. He walked over to the couple with a wide grin, it had been a couple months since they got together at the restaurant and he missed their presence. Marie embraced Draco largely and gave him a tight squeeze, and Oliver followed, both of them eager to catch up with him. 

“Draco dear, how are you? You look so handsome in that suit” Marie grinned, inspecting the suit closer, and feeling the texture on her hands. 

“I’ve been good! Have you seen Noah?” Draco tried to pass it off as nonchalant, he was at his wedding after all. Oliver nodded and pointed his hand over to the other corner of the venue, where the newlyweds were greeting their guests and showing off their wedding bands. The sight of Noah stung, he desperately wanted to leave. Instead, he waved over a waiter and ordered a double scotch. If he was going to have to be here he might as well take advantage of the open bar. 

“Oh Draco, you would not believe who is here, Harry Potter! Apparently Aurora knows him from their auror training, small world huh? Didn’t you go to school with him?” Oliver exclaimed as he pointed over to where Harry was standing by the bar. This night just kept getting worse and worse. Of course Potter had to be here, it's not like Draco was already preoccupied with having to keep other awkward encounters to a minimum, but now he also has to deal with the self righteous saviour of the wizarding world too. The waiter walked past with Draco’s drink and he downed the glass in one swig, placing it back on the tray and signalling for a second. Oliver and Marie eyed him suspiciously, 

“You alright mate?” Oliver questioned, Draco nodded slowly, making up an excuse as to how work was busting his ass, it wasn’t a complete lie, work had been getting a little more difficult lately, having him work later hours. But that wasn’t the origin of his issues, if anything, it helped distract him from them. Oliver didn’t seem to be fully convinced, but he knew better than to integrate Draco when he was in a bad mood.

They all sat down at the table, enjoying their dinner and chatting amongst themselves. They sat at a table with a couple of auror’s that Oliver worked with, and alchemists that Draco knew from working with them briefly. Draco had a couple more glasses of scotch, doing shots of tequila with Marie at one point, after which she begged Oliver to try and take a shot from her belly button. Noah and Aurora made their way over to their table eventually, this was by the time Draco was already slightly intoxicated so he was more than vocal about his joy for their marriage. Yelling out how the two were made for each other and grabbing both of them into a buddy hug. A move that he regretted almost immediately after getting a scent of Noah’s cologne and pushing them away quickly. He turned away from the table, unwilling to make jokes and laugh around with them anymore, and walked over to the bar. He ordered another glass of scotch, stumbling into the bar stool as he waited. 

“Shouldn’t you have a glass of water instead?” 

Draco rolled his eyes without even looking over. The bartender slid over the glass to Draco slowly, unsure as to whether it was ethical giving a man this drunk more alcohol. Draco snatched it from his hand, gulped it all down in one go. He turned to Potter, raised his middle finger in his face, then placed the glass back on the bar before turning around to head back to his table. 

Once dinner was over, everyone had made their way onto the dance floor, Marie was clearly drunk and trying to throw it back on Oliver while he laughed and kissed her. Draco was the only one left sitting at his table, he was sipping on his drink and feeling like his head was spinning, but in a good way. He liked how it made him feel light and nonexistent, like if he wanted to, he could fly away and be rid of the issues he had when sober. He saw Noah walking towards him from across the room, looking apologetic and like he had a million things to say, none of which would make this situation any less awkward. Draco did not want to deal with Noah’s speech on how he was sorry and hoped that he wasn’t hurt and how he felt so bad. It was all so disingenuous and Draco wanted no part of it. He stood up from his chair, making his way to the dance floor, watching Noah stop and eye him, Draco was annoyed. Annoyed that he was all of a sudden acting a saint, on his wedding day out of all days. So he grabbed the first gay looking lad that he saw and started dancing on him. Grinding his hips on him to the rhythm of his music. He was sick of seeing Noah’s puppy dog eyes looking at him with pity so he closed his eyes and continued to dance, turning around and wrapping his arms around the other guy's neck. 

Draco managed to avoid Noah for the rest of the night, apart from in group settings. The night was now winding down and everyone was slowly dispersing. Marie and Oliver came over to Draco to say goodbye, and promised to call and write more often. They exchanged hugs and Oliver all but carried Marie home. The guy that he was dancing with earlier asked him to head home with him, but Draco wasn’t in the mood for once. Now that the high of the event was over, he was actually left feeling quite depressed. Before Noah could notice that he hadn’t gone yet and would corner him to talk to him, he stepped through a side door of the venue to smoke and be alone before heading home. He never really smoked sober but it was a nasty habit he had whenever he was drunk or high. He stepped out and pulled the cigarette box out of his pocket, turning the corner and finding Potter standing there, leaning against the wall. Normally, Draco would turn his ass around and leave as soon as he could, but Potter was better than Noah, and he really wanted to smoke. He leaned on the wall beside Potter, putting his cigarette between his lips and lighting it before taking a long drag. He could see Potter eye him from his peripheral vision, but chose to just close his eyes. 

“Do you want one?” he asked as he offered the box to Potter. 

Harry stared at him suspiciously, unsure if this was a friendly gesture or if he was simply too drunk to notice it was him. Nevertheless, he nodded and grabbed one from the box. Draco lit his lighter and brought it over to Harry’s mouth as he tilted forward and lit his cigarette. They stood in silence for a while, Draco began to take in the situation that he was put into tonight, and his mood fell drastically. He was lonely, and all the drinking and random guys had taken its toll on his mental health. 

“What’s up between you and Noah? I saw him glaring at you like a lost puppy all night.” Potter asked between swigs of his smoke. 

“You noticed?” Draco was surprised, his friends after knowing both of them for several years hadn’t even tied the two together, at least not that he knew of. 

“Hard not to”

If it was any other night, Draco would have told Potter to go fuck himself, he didn’t know if it was because of the alcohol or because he was feeling lonely, but he wanted to confide in him. 

“It’s a mess really. Basically we started fucking every couple of months when drunk. You know, he’s the whole “thinks he's straight but will only hook up with guys” type of person. He was dating Aurora still, but I caught feelings and then they got married and we stopped fucking. Really not that big of a deal.” He sighed as he realized how stupid he felt saying it all out loud. Noah was clearly a prick, and Draco was many things but he wasn’t the type of guy to let someone walk all over him. 

“Sounds like a dick.” 

Draco nodded. He looked over at Harry, only now realizing how good he looked tonight. His hair was messy but well managed, he had a navy suit that fit him incredibly well, hugging his legs and thighs in all the right places. 

“So tell me, whatcha been up to since Hogwarts?” Draco was just looking to make conversation at this point, he didn’t want to go home. 

“I became an auror. It’s not bad, pretty much what was expected of me, even though I sort of hate it.” Potter replied.

“I tried the whole auror thing, wasn’t for me, a bit too suffocating to be fighting evil all the time. Why don’t you just quit?”

“And do what?”

“I’m sure there are many places that would love to hire you, Potter. You’re not exactly just anybody.”  
Harry eyed Draco for a moment, taking a pause to look down his suit. If Draco didn’t know better, he would have thought that Potter was checking him out. 

“I don’t know what else I would possibly do. Guess that's the problem really.” Draco met Potter’s gaze as it was coming up from staring at Draco. His eyes were darker green than he remembered, and they had a sad aging to them, he was sure that whatever Potter had to deal with since Hogwarts was not healthy for him. He stepped an inch closer to him, leaning his face slightly in. Harry glanced down at his lips and back up, staring further until clearing his throat and backing away. 

“Anyway, there are bigger problems in the world. I appreciate the smoke, but it seems I’ve got someone waiting for me” Harry said as he nodded his head towards the door. It was some blonde man in a black suit, leaning against the door frame. Draco nodded and let him go. Met by silence once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a longer chapter! Let me know what you think so far <3


	4. chapter 4

After Draco finished his cigarette, he walked around the back of the venue, debating whether to go home or wander the streets of London for a while. He used to take mindless walks through the city when he was in his earlier twenties, riddled with insomnia and desperate to feel connected to something other than his own life. Those were more difficult times in his life, back when he was still in auror training and burdened by the mistakes he felt he made in his school years. He was never one to victimize himself, but coming to terms with the fact that what he had to do was out of his control was one of the more challenging realizations he’s had to overcome. 

The sky lit a blue haze over the city, the yellow ambiance of the street lights filling up the alleyways. He could see sparse lights on in apartment buildings, making him ponder how every person in each of those rooms lived their own lives, had their own troubles to face. He walked past a 24 hour convenience store, where he used to buy cheap liquor and get drunk with Oliver. He would tell him about his relationship with Marie and how he was sure that she was who he wanted to marry. Draco didn’t know how to empathize, he’d never met anyone he was sure he wanted to spend more than a few years with, let alone his entire life. He has had to be so painfully independent, not only through adulthood, but even as a child, that the picture of living co-dependently on someone else seemed overbearing. He walked into the store, the fluorescent lighting making his eyes squint, and a trace of a headache begin to form. He roamed through the rows, taking his time, it’s not like he had anywhere else to be. He picked out a small bottle of rum, as he felt his inebriation begin to fade off. The cashier eyed him curiously, Draco walked up to the cash register and placed down the bottle, putting money down on the counter. 

He debated going to Aaron’s apartment, he had forgotten that he had completely ignored all his attempts at communication today, and felt he needed to apologize. But at the same time, he wasn’t in the mood to talk about his feelings about the wedding, or to have Aaron attempt to make him feel better. So he just continued walking. Taking swigs of his bottle periodically, aware of how it made him look to whoever happened to also be wandering the streets. If his dad saw him now he would be sure to never let him live it down. He would talk about how he should know better than to disgrace the Malfoy name by acting like a boozy bum, wandering off to God knows where. Draco was grateful his father was almost entirely out of his life, apart from an owl sent to him on his birthday and occasionally on Christmas - although Draco knew that they were written by his mother - he didn’t really talk to his parents. He preferred it that way, or at least he liked to think he did. Dealing with the two of them was always unbearably difficult as it made him feel as if he was constantly not living up to the expectations they had set for them, but now dating and fucking men too? It was far more than Lucius would be able to handle, and Draco didn’t want the extra arguments. 

The night was starting to feel more and more endless, it was nearly 2 in the morning, and he didn’t know where else to go. Going home didn’t feel like an option, because for some sick reason, he didn’t want the day to end. He didn’t want to wake up tomorrow and know that he hadn’t imagined this all. It was beginning to feel like that was the only choice he had left. Draco sat down on the curb of some random street. Wanting to take in the last of the night before getting ready to go home. Across the street there was a little cafe with fairy lights dangling at the entrance diagonally. A waiter was closing up the shop, seemingly it was a late night restaurant of some sort. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol, but he all of a sudden felt incredibly small, it was a nice feeling. Knowing that no matter how big his problems had felt for him, they were nearly nonexistent when it came to the grand scheme of things. He closed his eyes and let his body sway from side to side, feeling warm - and slightly ill. He knew that apparating home drunk was a bad idea, there are far more chances of screwing up the spell and getting brutally disfigured, but consequences didn’t seem realistic right now so Draco took his chances. 

The concierge at his building eyed him suspiciously as he stumbled in through the front doors of his apartment building. Most likely reeking of alcohol and looking more than disheveled. He took the elevator up, enjoying the quiet jazz ambience music that played on his way up. As he stepped out, he turned the corner, eyes barely open and head rolling back, one placing itself lazily in front of the other. He reached his door, seeing the door slightly agape. Draco straightened up almost immediately, reaching for his wand and having it out in defence. He pushed the door slowly, it creaking slightly from the rusty hardware. He cast lumos, as he aged, his need to say easier spells out loud decreased with his strength. The light cascaded over his apartment, revealing a violent raiding. Nearly every drawer open, his belongings scattered across the area, glass broken, and furniture ripped. He walked further into the apartment, still on edge, unsure if whoever it was that did this was still there. The rest of his space was just as battered up. Draco made sure to check all the rooms and anywhere that someone could be hidden before letting the extent of the damage finally settle in. 

~

“Are you sure you have no idea what they could have possibly been looking for?” Asked a stern looking auror, Draco could tell he was questioning him, but it's not as if his record was entirely clear. If whoever raided his apartment really was looking for something, Draco had not the slightest clue what it was, besides, this could have all just been to send a message to him. 

“I don’t know how many times I have to repeat myself.” Draco spoke, rolling his eyes slightly at the interrogation. He had gone to the ministry for their help thinking they would be more of use, rather than just being accusatory because of his past with death eaters. 

“Look, I think he’s telling the truth Marvin, why don’t we just drop it. Rob and I will go and investigate the apartment a little further and see if it leads us anywhere” Harry stated, avoiding eye contact with Draco at all costs. It was strange seeing him so soon after their semi-civilized conversation last night. But now, in the harsh reality of daylight, everything had quickly returned back to their normal. He had been the auror that was put on Draco’s case, considering it was seen as high profile because of Draco’s parents. Making both of them uncomfortable, but they luckily wouldn’t have to see each other much. After this first interview, the rest of it was in the Ministry’s hands. 

Marvin pulled Harry to the side of the office, talking to him in a hushed tone, still with a sense of urgency. Draco could only make out of a few words, none that put together a cohesive sentence or gave him any idea as to what was going on. Particularly strange that they were keeping secrets when Draco was the one that needed their help in the first place. They turned around, Harry’s face compliant.

“Alright Draco, here’s what's going to happen, considering that you can’t go back to your apartment during an active investigation, the Ministry is going to provide you with housing in the meantime. I’m not sure if it will be up to your standard of luxury, but it will have to do.”   
Fuck. The last thing Draco needed was to have to live in some shitty little shack provided by the ministry, lord knows they wouldn’t provide their finest accommodations to an ex death eater. Still, he nodded curtly. It’s not like he had many other options. They left the room, leaving him alone after instructing him that he had a couple of hours before they would assign him housing. So basically, he just had to skirt off and find something to do until then. He got up from his seat, dusting off his suit from last night. He still hasn’t changed since the wedding since he had to come to the Ministry in the middle of the night. He rubbed his eyes, feeling them burn into the palms of his hands. He desperately needed sleep, and a shower. He still reeked of booze from last night. Pulling out his phone from his pocket, debating dialling Aaron’s number, but deciding against it. He would just show up to Aaron’s apartment as he knew if he called him now after ignoring him for nearly 48 hours, he would get an earful over the phone. And although it may be worse in person, at least he would have the space to leave if need be. 

Draco apparated out of the ministry using a portal, and to Aarons street. He did this instead of going straight to his place so he could grab an apology coffee and bagel, but mainly because his head was pounding and he severely needed a coffee himself. He walked into a coffee shop and ordered the items to go, knowing how horrid he must look dressed in last night's clothes with tousled hair and a pungent scent extruding his body. He simply got his food and coffee and walked out, not bothering for niceties after the dirty looks he received from the barista. 

Draco was now at Aarons door, all of a sudden slightly anxious about having to explain himself about why he was being so aloof the last couple of days. Nevertheless, he raised his hand up to the door and knocked. The door swung open within seconds, Aaron at the other side of it, eyes red and filled with concern, relaxing slightly once he processed the sight of Draco. 

“Jesus fucking christ you idiot! I thought it was going to be someone coming to tell me you were fucking dead!” Aaron yelled, attempting to slam the door in his face, but Draco catching it with his foot. 

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I’ll explain everything just please let me in.” Draco pleaded, putting on his best puppy dog face and outreaching his coffee and bagel. Aaron sighed and reluctantly opened the door, rolling his eyes and turning back into his apartment as he did. 

“This better be the best fucking excuse I’ve ever heard in my life” Draco laughed at this, whenever Aaron was really angry, he would curse like a trucker, something he otherwise never did. 

~

“That’s so fucked up Draco, are you ok?” Aaron seemed like he could be on the brink of tears, he was always the more sensitive one out of the two. 

Draco nodded, explaining how he was glad that he had decided to wander the streets like a drugged up bum instead of go home right away and continued on his story leading to this morning. He told him about the part with Harry being his auror and how they are placing him into housing. He chose to leave out the part about his conversation with Harry the night before, for some reason, it felt forbidden in a way, like he couldn’t let anyone know that he was capable of a civil conversation with Potter. 

Aaron sympathized with him, always saying the right things and putting his hand on him for comfort. He wasn’t sure why but he hadn’t felt any sort of emotion about his apartment being raided, he knew that he should be afraid, or angry, but to be honest, he just felt exhausted. 

“That being said, I am a mess and would love to use your shower and take a nap on your couch if you will let me.” Draco said, just the sound of the two things beginning to relax him a little. Aaron agreed swiftly and even insisted that he sleep on the bed, ensuring him that it wouldn’t be an issue. Draco complied and walked over to the washroom to start the shower. He got undressed, looking in the mirror and turning around to see some of the scars on his back. They were smaller, nothing compared to what others experienced during the war, but a constant reminder nevertheless. He reached his fingers over them slowly, feeling the rivets in and valleys in his skin. He stepped into the shower, letting the warm water hit his back and relieve his aching muscles. Draco had to actively keep himself from falling asleep under the stream, deciding that it would be rather awkward for Aaron to have to wake his naked body from in the shower. He cleaned his body and washed his hair as quickly as he could, longing for the bliss of finally hitting a pillow to sleep. As he stepped out, realization dawned on as he noticed the lack of towel hanging on the wall, calling out to Aaron to bring him one. Aaron yelled back an agreement, ranting about how apologetic he was as he opened the door a crack and slid the towel in, opening it a little too wide and accidentally getting a glimpse of Draco’s wet and very naked body. 

“Oh fuck! I’m sorry!” Aaron exclaimed as he slammed a palm over his eyes, apologizing profusely. Draco wrapped the towel over his waist and laughed at Aaron’s embarrassment, walking out of the bathroom and ruffling up Aaron’s hair as if he was a child on his way out, to which Aaron blushed like crazy. 

Draco changed into a pair of casual sleep clothes that were left for him on the bed, the clothes hung loosely around his body, as he was a little shorter than Aaron. He unraveled into the bed, sleep becoming him nearly as soon as he hit the pillow. 

~

Draco woke up to the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen, he could see through the cracks of his eyes that it was already dark outside, his eyes still heavy with sleep. He reached his arms out in a stretch, thankful for the dreamless sleep that finally made him feel rested. He sat up in the bed, eyes still closed as he began to feel the rest of his body waking up. Walking back out of the room, he rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, saying a hello to Aaron. 

“Somebody passed out for a while” Aaron joked as he added some white wine to his pan. Draco thanked him for the bed and sat at the kitchen table, asking him what he was making. It was now around 6 in the evening, and he was starting to feel his hunger. 

“Just pasta in some white wine sauce, it's not the craziest meal but I think it's pretty good.” 

“I don’t know why you’re always second guessing yourself, Aaron” Draco stated, confused as to why he was always undervaluing whatever work he did. Whether it was at the office, or even with something as simple as his dinner.

“Just habit I guess.” 

The conversation ceased at that. Not that it was awkward, there was just nothing more to say. 

Aaron finished the dinner preparation and plated them both portions. They ate together, chatting about their families and how they got into alchemy. Aaron had apparently always been exceedingly gifted at it in school but his parents made him switch to “manlier” electives as he got to higher years. Stupid concept in Draco’s opinion but their parents weren’t known for making the soundest decisions. He offered to clean up after dinner in exchange for his hospitality, but Aaron insisted against it, saying it would make him feel uncomfortable. 

Draco knew it was time to get back to the ministry as they most likely had made a decision on his housing by now, he was just hoping it wouldn’t be anywhere too aggressively Weasley like. He changed back into his suit, which Aaron had washed while he was asleep. He still didn’t know if he was able to get the clothes from his apartment, he hoped he wouldn’t have to wear exclusively this suit for the next few weeks. He walked back out of the room, and handed the clothes that he was lent back to Aaron. Giving him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek, unsure what he would do without his help. 

Once back at the Ministry, Draco walked back up to Marvin’s office, hearing shouting from the inside. 

“There’s no way in fucking hell that that piece of shit is staying at MY apartment!” He heard Harry booming throughout the hall, even with the door closed. If this was what the Ministry considered alternative housing, he wanted nothing to do with it. Living with Potter was not on his bucket list. 

“That is not for you to decide Potter! I told you already, the Ministry is out of housing after the last raid! And with Malfoy being one of their clear targets, we can’t just have him running around the streets of London can we!” Marvin argued back. Who are they talking about? When he met with them earlier they acted as if they hadn’t had the faintest clue as to who could have targeted his apartment, and why. This was slowly becoming a living nightmare. He reached his hand up to knock on the door, it swinging open by Harry’s force. His face filled with rage, and the sight of Draco did not seem to help his situation.

“Say hi to your new fucking roomie.” Potter spat in Malfoy’s face, shoving past him and storming off down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! What do you guys think is going to happen? I'd love to hear your responses :)


	5. chapter 5

“I’m sorry about him, I guess this wasn’t really in the job description. I know you guys have had a pretty rocky past.” stated Marvin. 

Rocky didn’t even begin to describe it. Up until recently, Draco and Harry haven’t been able to hold a conversation without some dispute starting. And although they have matured to a place where they could be civil - or at least Draco thought - it was still difficult to put the events of the past behind them. 

“It’s fine, could you at least explain what’s going on?” Draco sighed as he placed his palm over his eyes. All of the exhaustion that he thought he had slept away coming back. 

“We’ve recently had to house a large number of people because of a recent raid that left a lot of victims in its trail. Unfortunately this means, we couldn’t house you with the Ministry. Harry being the only one that lives alone, and I’m quite certain he has a spare bedroom, is the one that we’ve asked to take you in for a month or two.” Marvin explained. 

This still left Draco confused as to what they said about him being a target, and why he couldn’t simply go and live with Aaron for a while. He didn’t want to ask or reveal that he was eavesdropping outside of the door in the first place. 

“I don’t think I understand Marvin, why can’t I just stay with a friend. I doubt Potter is the only option.”

“Look, we have to keep you under Ministry supervision, we can’t explain why right now so you’ll just have to trust us.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m entitled to know why I have to be stuck with bloody Potter for the next month! This is ridiculous!” Draco could feel his fathers temper coming through in him, he should calm himself down before he said anything else that sounded so snobbish.

“Draco I understand you’re upset, but you have to trust that we know what we are doing. All I ask is you stay with Harry for a month or so” His voice sounded so condescending. As if Draco was a child and didn’t know right from left. He was a bloody wizard for fucks sake, he was pretty sure he could take care of himself. He most of all didn’t need Potter at his guard for so long. 

Draco got up and paced around the room, so many questions still left unanswered.

“So when am I supposed to go to Potters? Pretty sure I can’t get into his apartment without him here.”

Marvin informed him that Harry should be back at the ministry within the next hour, and he should just “sit tight”. The last thing he wanted to do was be at the beck and call of Potter. Knowing him, he’d be late too. 

~

Draco had been sitting at the Ministry waiting for Harry for nearly 2 hours, the building was almost entirely cleared out as even the employees had already gone home. He agreed that if Harry wasn’t going to arrive within the next 15 minutes, he was going to simply leave and spend the night at Aarons, if his safety was so important to the Ministry, he wouldn’t be sitting here alone. 

As the 15 minutes was nearing to an end, Draco began to pack his things back into his bag, he had been reading a book on alchemy to pass the time. As he was packing passive aggressively, he saw Potter stroll down the hallway, as if he had all the time in the world.

“You’re a real prick you know. I don’t like this situation any more than you do but at least I’m mature enough to respect other people’s time. Believe it or not, not everyone is willing to wait around for Mr. Potter just for a smidge of his attention.” Draco spat, getting more and more angry and was really regretting not leaving earlier. Maybe that would’ve at least caused Potter some trouble at work. 

“Oh cmon, I’m only a little bit late, I doubt a couple minutes took that much out of your precious time.” Harry spoke as he giggled to himself lightly, Draco understood now that no matter what half civil conversations they were able to hold before, living with him would be just like being back at Hogwarts all over again. 

“Oh fuck off Potter, I don’t need to be spending my time with a self righteous asshole who doesn’t give a crap about anyone else but himself.” Draco picked himself up and gathered his belongings, heading away from Potter, he was just going to spend his time at Aaron’s. He doubted Potter was dying to have him stay at his apartment anyway. 

Harry reached at Draco’s arm, gripping it firmly. 

“Enough with the attitude, you and I both know you don’t have another option other than staying with me, so I’d rather skip the dramatics.” Harry said sternly, looking into Draco’s eyes for some sort of sign that he agreed with what he was saying. Draco nodded lightly and he let go of his arm. 

“Alright, that’s better. Now follow me.” Harry walked up down that hall and into the main square of the Ministry, walking towards the green domed portals in the entryway. He steps under the cylindrical shape, and grabs onto Malfoy’s hand. The strangeness of physical contact with Harry catches Malfoy off guard. Luckily, he had no time to process this feeling as they apparate to the front door of Harry’s apartment. 

The door was a simple mahogany wood, relatively unvarnished in comparison to the rest of the space. As Harry unlocked the door, Draco was greeted by a vast space, beautifully decorated with mid-century modern furniture, all green and wood tones. His jaw slightly fell agape as he walked further towards the kitchen. One of dark granite and dark wood cabinets, with glossed silver appliances. Draco loved decadent interior spaces but had never gotten around to properly putting together his. He placed his bags down by the island and took a seat on the couch, which were leather and were so perfectly plump they looked as if no one had ever sat on them. 

“I don’t know what I was expecting but this was certainly not it.” Draco said slowly as he eyed the rest of the room. Taking in the wall of framed photos of him with Hermione and Ron, a few photos of Sirius and Lupin, and his parents in the centre. 

“Hermione made me hire an interior designer, this place used to look like a bum lived in it quite honestly, I prefer it much more now, although I don’t really use the kitchen so all the new appliances were a waste of money.” Harry said, scratching the back of his head, looking awkward and strangely out of place in his own home. Draco didn’t know how he could not use a kitchen like that, if it were his, he would be cooking constantly. 

“Alright, well, a couple of ground rules then. I usually end up leaving for work pretty early in the morning, and get back typically after dinner, so you can do whatever during the day, just clean up if you’re going to make a mess. I rarely have any groceries so if you want anything extra that’s on you to go and buy. Also, I would prefer it if there weren’t any strange women, or - uh, men, in the apartment, if you’re gonna go out, just go to their place.” Draco was slightly offended that Harry thought he was going to be bringing men home left and right, but I guess keeping in mind how their first recent encounter went, it wasn’t that surprising. 

Harry took some time to show him around the apartment, pointing out the bathroom and the spare room that Draco will be staying in. The apartment was a two bedroom but only one bathroom which shouldn’t pose as too inconvenient with Harry gone at work all day. After the little tour of the apartment, Draco was left on his own to settle in his room. The walls were painted a light brown, with a queen size bed in the centre, encased in dark red sheets. He slid his phone out of his pocket and saw messages from Aaron, asking if he was okay and if he had gotten to the Ministry housing yet. Draco sent Aaron a quick text letting him know he was fine and that he was living with Potter, promising him a phone call later in the morning to explain everything. 

It had gotten late in the evening by the time Draco had unpacked but he still felt no urge to fall asleep. He walked over into the washroom, careful to be quiet as most of the lights were off and he assumed Harry was asleep. After getting ready for bed, he laid awake for seemingly hours. Annoyed by his insomnia rising up again, at a time when it was most inconvenient. When Draco was younger, his mom would make him chamomile tea with honey to help him fall asleep, he was sure it was just a placebo at this point as it brought back comforting memories of his youth. He wrestled with the idea of going into the kitchen and brewing himself a cup of tea, he figured Harry had been asleep for long enough to not be awakened by a kettle. He rose from the bed, wearing his silk pyjamas that he had bought himself as a Christmas present, realizing how pretentious they must have looked. He tip-toed into the kitchen, startled by the light already being on. Harry was sitting at the kitchen table, looking over what seemed to be work files, dressed in plaid red pyjama bottoms with a Gryffindor crest on the pocket, and with no shirt on. Draco tried desperately not to stare. 

“Do you happen to have chamomile?” he asked, startling Harry who looked at him with wide eyes as his body tensed up in defence. His muscles relaxed as he processed it was just Draco. 

“Merlin, Malfoy. You scared me. The tea is in that cupboard above the kettle, I should have chamomile in there somewhere.” Harry stated as he turned back towards his files. 

The energy in the room shifted into one of awkwardness, both of them unsure of what to say. Draco scoured through the tea cupboard, desperately trying to find the chamomile quickly so he can rush back to his room and escape the tenseness of them being alone. He scrummaged as quietly as he could but from the look on Potter’s face from his peripheral, he wasn’t being as stealthy as he thought. Harry rose from his chair obnoxiously, stomping over to where Draco stood, reached into the cupboard and pulled out the chamomile, slamming it down onto the counter. Draco was about to protest at the rudeness of his actions, but chose to hold his tongue, he was in his turf. 

“Thanks.” He mumbled, getting only a grunt from Harry in return. 

Draco poured the hot water over the chamomile tea bag, watching it sink to the floor of the mug. He needed honey, but the idea of asking Potter for more helped repelled him. He chose against it and scurried back to his room, breathing a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. 

~

The rest of the night was spent tossing and turning, only getting collectively an hour of sleep through the night. He had already been half awake by the time he heard the birds chirping outside, reminding him of his restless sleep. He heard clamouring outside of his door, two voices chatting amongst themselves. Draco walked out of his room, desperate for a coffee for some sort of energy boost before leaving for work. He still had over an hour before he had to leave but it’s not like he was going to get anymore sleep at this rate. He walked into the kitchen, pursing his lips into an awkward smile at Harry and his company, averting his gaze as he reached for the coffee pot.

“Draco Malfoy is it? I’m Casper Jones, Harry’s partner.” 

Casper was obscenely tall, having several inches on Draco. His hair was pitch black, with light grey eyes that were rimmed with blue. He had a kind look to his face, one that made everyone feel welcome in his presence. His hand was outstretched, daring Draco to greet it. He reached his hand forward, shaking his hand firmly. It became clear where he knew him from, he had seen him at Noah’s wedding, waiting for Harry after their talk. He had seemed more sulky then, although he didn’t dare get a good look at him then, in fear of seeming too interested in Harry’s life. Draco turned around, reaching for a coffee mug, uninterested in making small talk with the two aurors in the kitchen. Harry signaled to Casper, and they both started heading towards the door, shutting the door behind them, Draco was met with the deafening noise of silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to release this chapter, I was having a little bit of a mental block. Let me know what you thought and would you guys want chapters from Harrys pov?


	6. chapter 6

The door to the apartment shut and Harry let out a sigh of relief. Casper had come to his aid so he didn’t have to endure another awkward encounter with Draco. Having Draco live with him was strange, he had spent so much of his childhood hating him, that attempting to live harmoniously felt far out of Harry’s comfort zone. 

“I can see what you mean, you could’ve cut the tension in there with a knife.” Casper said followed by a slight laugh. 

If it hadn’t been for Casper, Harry wouldn’t have even given a second thought to staying an auror, but working alongside him had been too rewarding the last few years. They were able to harvest a strong friendship from work, one he hadn’t felt since his school years with Ron and Hermione. The three of them had still remained close, however it was difficult to maintain their relationship with all of them working full time jobs. After they got married, they moved outside of London, drawing their proximity to Harry further. Although they still saw each other at the Ministry, it wasn’t the same as before. 

Harry was still grateful for their friendship, and how positively they reacted when he came out, Hermione in particular; whereas Ron took a little longer to warm up, but that was only because Harry had to break up with Ginny in the process, leaving her heartbroken. Harry still remained part of the family despite this, still spending every holiday with the Weasley’s, him and Ginny now good friends. 

Casper and Harry entered the Ministry, eager to get to their first meeting of the day as it was with Marvin and a few other auror’s to discuss the instance with Draco, how long he was supposed to be staying with Harry would also be covered, he was hoping for no more than a week. They walked into the board room, it had cold dark grey walls and dark brown furniture. The worst part about working at the Ministry was how unwelcoming it all felt, as if they had been trying to crush any ounce of joy that dared walk into the place. The pair took a seat at the table, waiting while a few more bodies filled the room, and Marvin seated himself at the head of the table. 

“Alright, I think we’ve got everyone in the room, can we all quiet down please” Marvin spoke, his voice echoing through the room. All the hushed side conversations came to an end, and the full attention of the space was focused on Marvin. 

“As we all most likely know, Draco Malfoy’s apartment was recently raided.” A couple of murmurs travelled in between the aurors, quickly put to a hush as Marvin continued. 

“This is not unexpected as we know the group in question has been hunting down disloyal death eaters for the last year, the Goyle family was affected just last week. In the meantime, Draco has been placed under the Ministry’s watch, currently residing with our own Harry Potter.” Harry felt some quick glances in his direction.

“I am assuming he will stay in the Potter residence for no less than a month, until we gather our resources to track the location of the next attack.” Harry’s mouth fell agape. Since when did he become a bed and breakfast for ex death eaters? It was bad enough he had to feel uncomfortable in his own home, but to have to keep Draco as a guest for that long felt like his own personal form of torture. Harry kept a mental note to confront Marvin after the meeting, surely the Ministry safe houses would be emptied out within the next week. 

“I believe that catches everybody up, Harry and Casper will be leading the investigation, any additional questions or concerns about this case can be taken directly to them. Everybody is dismissed, Harry and Casper please stay back for a few minutes.” Marvin directed, closing the file case in front of him, and waiting at the head of the table as the aurors began to dissipate from the room. 

“A month?! I have to spend an entire MONTH living with that ungrateful little-” Marvin stared into Harry, commanding him not to finish the end of the sentence as a few aurors were still making their way out of the meeting. 

“Harry, we have been over this before, I do not have another choice other than to leave him with you, I need you to stop being difficult so we can focus on the actual problem at hand here.” Harry huffed in frustration, his anger rumbling through his body. 

“Now, you boys have been doing an excellent job at trying to track down this group, I’ve gotten word of another planned attack tomorrow in Northern London, I was hoping you two would go and investigate. Unless, of course, you wanna keep bickering about your living quarters Potter.” Harry bitterly shook his head no, and Marvin sent them off. 

Harry slammed the door of his and Caspers office as they entered, letting out a frustrated groan as he sat back in his chair. 

“C'mon mate, it can’t be that bad.” Casper was always one to look on the positive side of things, it’s what made them such a good pairing. As the years passed, Harry has gotten more and more pessimistic, which wasn’t always ideal for this line of work. 

“Last night he couldn’t even get a cup of tea without it being excruciatingly awkward. I can’t handle another month of this.” Harry sighed, putting his head into his hands. 

“Well, I’m sure he feels out of place, and an unwanted visitor at that. Why don’t you try making more conversation, maybe make him feel more comfortable?” Of course Casper would suggest that. Harry didn’t want to make Draco feel more comfortable, he didn’t even want him there in the first place.

Harry simply nodded in agreement, not wanting to talk about the situation any longer. They needed to get started on the preparations for tomorrow. 

~

Casper and Harry had been doing desk work for hours, it was already nearly 6 in the evening and almost everyone had cleared out and gone home. The pair was used to working outrageously long hours, but it's not like either of them had anywhere else to go. They were going over the details of the Goyle case, attempting to find similarities between them and the Malfoy raid. The only aspects they had in common was a death eater mark left on the floor of all the targeted homes. There was no way to know how many people were in this organization and just how serious of a threat it is to anyone who was a death eater but has since retired that title. Harry had trouble finding sympathy for these individuals sometimes, after all, they had at one point aligned with Voldemort’s ideals, and something like that isn’t easily let go of. Nevertheless, Harry tried to put his own biases aside and protect the potential targets of this organization. 

There was a knock at the office door, Hermione peeked her head in, giving a greeting to the two boys. She had aged beautifully, her light brown hair cut into a shoulder length bob, making her look older and more mature, not that she needed the haircut to solidify those traits. 

“Harry, Ron and I were going to grab a late dinner, care to join?” Although the three of them didn’t see each other nearly as often as they’d like, they all tried to get together at any chance possible. Harry agreed, wrapping up the file he was looking at. Casper stayed, telling Harry that he would only stay for another half hour or so, Harry knew that that was a lie, they never left work earlier than 8pm. 

Harry walked out of the office, greeting Ron and Hermione with a tight hug, eager to catch up on their lives. They went to this quaint muggle restaurant with dim lighting and warm ambiance. Ron and Hermione talked about their married life and work at the Ministry. Hermione was campaigning to become the next Minister of Magic, which has taken up almost all of the free time she had, which wasn’t much to begin with. Ron had become an auror like Harry, although he was working in a separate department. Harry told the two about his rooming up with Draco, and how it was practically forced on him by Marvin. 

“Wow, rooming with Draco, I’m sure you must be enjoying yourself” Ron said genuinely, giving Hermione a look and giggling lightly. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Harry was confused. 

“Oh c’mon lad, it's been long enough. We know all about your little crush on Malfoy back at Hogwarts.” Harry’s face turned pink, what crush?

“I did not have a crush on Draco! Were you not there as we literally despised each other through all of school?” Harry said, feeling himself getting defensive. 

“Yeah sure, it may have started out like that, but Merlin, at one point you could sense the sexual tension!” Hermione argued, laughter starting up in between the two of them. 

“That was NOT sexual tension. If anything it was… hatred.. tension.”

“Whatever you say Harry.” Ron said, taking a swig of his drink. 

He couldn’t believe that this was what Ron and Hermione thought of his rivalry with Malfoy, who else from Hogwarts thought this? Harry grimaced at the thought. Him and Draco? The thought itself was insane. He could admit that Draco was a technically attractive man and wasn’t far off his type, but his personality spoke for itself, squashing any smidge of attraction that may have been there. 

The group continued on with dinner, sharing two bottles of wine in between themselves, leaving Harry feeling warm and fuzzy. Whenever they all got together, it felt just as it did when they were younger, making Harry feel like life hadn’t changed all that much. The restaurant was starting to close, so they decided on walking Harry home before catching a train. The air was brisk and made his skin prickly, as the hair on his body extended from the abrupt change in temperature. They strolled down the streets in London, sharing stories about their times at Hogwarts, nostalgic for the few days where they felt they weren’t in impending danger. Ron and Hermione walked hand in hand, keeping each other warm, making Harry wildly aware of the emptiness of his own hand. He rarely felt like a third wheel with them, but on specific occasions when it was cold and dark, he wondered how nice it would be to have someone there. 

They walked up to the entrance of his apartment complex. 

“I would invite you two in, but to be honest, I don’t think I would be able to deal with the awkwardness of having all of us in a room with Malfoy.” They all laughed, knowing that it would be incredibly strange to interact in a setting outside of school. 

They bid each other farewell, Harry watching as the couple walked off down the street, Ron opening his jacket for Hermione to cuddle into. 

Harry fumbled with the keys, struggling to fit them into the lock. As he entered the apartment, the smell of fresh herbs and vegetables filled his nose, he never came home to the scent of homemade food. After having to cook so often for the Dursleys, it became an activity that Harry could rarely take pleasure in. He stepped into the front hallway, taking off his winter coat and placing down his work bag. He walked into the kitchen to Draco humming along to a song through his headphones, eyes closed, and head lightly nodding along to the rhythm. He must’ve not noticed Harry come in as he stayed swaying and cooking with his eyes closed for several seconds. Harry, feeling calmer and happier from the light buzz of the alcohol, came up behind Draco and patted him on the shoulder, laughing as Draco jumped slightly, letting out a yelp. Harry bent over his knees, barely containing his laughter of a startled Malfoy. 

“Merlin, Potter, you’re gonna give me a bloody heart attack!” Draco exclaimed, clutching his heart in his hand. 

Harry apologized, “What’re you making? I wouldn’t have taken you for one that would be into cooking” 

“Just some spaghetti with a meat sauce, cooking is therapeutic for me, helps me calm down.” Harry caught his breath after laughing, startled at his own ability to feel almost at peace near Draco. 

“Alright, I’ll leave you to it then.” Harry said, walking back towards the direction of his room. 

“Potter?” he turned around, seeing Draco look at him, somewhat stiff in his position. 

“Do you uh...or would you want some? I made more than I needed so I could give you some if you want.” Harry didn’t know how to react to this version of Draco, it was clear he was desperately trying to be nice. He thought back to what Casper said earlier about trying to make him feel more comfortable. 

“Oh. No, thanks, I’m good. Just got back from dinner.” Harry said, turning back around and continuing on to his room. Although they held a conversation for a minute, it didn’t mean Harry was about to have dinner with the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will also be from Harry's POV, just wanted to provide more context for his interactions with Draco. It should be up midway next week! As always, let me know how you guys are enjoying this fic so far :))


	7. chapter 7

The morning chill was getting under Harry’s clothes, biting at his skin and leaving him shivering. It was early evening, the sun was just setting over the townhouses in a small suburban area of England, Casper and Harry were forced to make themselves scarce in between the alleys, careful as to not have anyone see them. There was supposed to be a raid later on in the evening, ex death eaters gathering to gain revenge on another disloyal wizard, the problem was, they didn’t know how many would show up, they were hoping that they wouldn’t be outnumbered. They had arrived earlier in the day in order to evacuate the pureblood and his family, escorting them back to the ministry and returning to the town once again. The day had been long and draining on Harry’s body, his muscles carrying a dull ache that pointed attention to itself whenever he moved. Although he was used to working long hours, it was mainly from paperwork, rarely did they have to spend the whole day on the field. 

They were keeping watch of the house from across the street, it had dark red brick with overgrown moss cascading down the sides of the house, the lights still on to maintain a facade that the family was still there. Harry had grown so sick of the auror work, desperate to have an escape from dark magic that he had been forced to hunt down for his whole life. It placed substantial pressure to constantly live up to his own name - Harry Potter, the boy who lived - never allowing him to feel like he could make mistakes or be anything less than prophetic greatness. This led Harry to a distorted view of self worth, he felt that unless he was stopping the next Voldemort, he would become nothing worth remembering, it was a disproportionate punishment that he gave himself, but one he couldn’t let go of. It amazed him how Draco had dropped the auror program, it felt so oddly juxtaposed from the Draco he knew in school. Back then, Harry was known as the brave one and Draco, in Harry’s eyes at least, was a coward. Now, Harry wishes he had the ability to live by his own ruling rather than everyone else's, wishing for the bravery he sees in Draco. 

Harry focused back on the task at hand, his eyes wandering down the street for any sign of movement. The Ministry had given them instructions to avoid engaging if possible, they were to gather as much new information as they could without being seen. It was difficult, considering the state they left Draco’s apartment in, it was clear that they were going to be thorough in the wreckage. Casper spotted a flash inside the house, a silhouette of a body grazing the first floor. They had brought Harry’s invisibility cloak, running over to the side of the house towards a door that led into the laundry room. Harry cringed as Casper turned the knob, hearing every slight movement, the door squeaking slightly as they pushed it open. They stood in the same spot, holding their breath, anxiously waiting to see if they had been heard. The body in the house kept moving, showing no sign of being aware of their presence. Casper pushed the door the rest of the way and they slid into the house. They heard the man walking throughout the rest of the house, being quiet in anticipation. Another woman apparated into the living room, barely in Harry’s sight but enough to distinguish her appearance. She was dressed in dark black cloaks, Harry recognizing them from years ago. Her hair was silver and shoulder length, prominent cheekbones carving out her face, paired with angular eyes. Harry didn’t recognize her, and from Casper’s perplexed expression, he was guessing he didn’t either. Her hands decorated with silver rings, the cuff of her sleeve riding up to show the end of a snake tail. 

“Cadmus! Don’t be a fool. Those Ministry pricks got to him before we did.” her voice was sharp, matching her appearance. It was deeper than Harry imagined, but still maintained an elegance to it. She had a disgusted look on her face, her eyes judging everything they fell upon. 

The man, Cadmus, ran down the stairs, clearly unaware that she had arrived. 

“Romilda! I wasn’t expecting you until later!” Cadmus chattered, clearly afraid of the women. 

“You underestimate my connections Cadmus, the Ministry had already placed that nasty traitor underneath their protection earlier in the day. Along with Draco Malfoy.” 

“What about the rest of the Malfoy family? Lucius? Narcissa?” Harry and Casper watched, barely breathing. 

“Their time will come. Don’t think that Lucius will ever be forgotten by the Renovation, for someone who was in our Lord’s inner circle, he will be penalized greatly.” Romilda spit, her mouth turning up in a wicked smile, seething with revenge. 

Harry felt the nerves in his spine ignite, he had his differences with Draco but he knew the pain of losing his parents. He wasn’t sure how Draco would react to the news of his parents being targets of the Renovation, but he knew that he had a right to know. If Harry had an option of coming to his parents aide, he would do it without hesitation. 

“Inform the others. We must stay discrete for a little while, acting reckless at this time will only bring harm to our goal. We must be patient.” Harry had rarely seen a death eater so composed, he was used to them being fuelled by their emotions, eager to lash out in battle, but Romilda was different. She was calm and calculating, finding flaws in even her own plans, this scared Harry even more. 

Cadmus nodded at the instruction and apparated from the house. Romilda paced around the living room, analyzing the belongings. Her slow step made its way in our direction, cornering us into a wall. Her face was almost directly aligned with mine, her breath warm on my face. My body stood perfectly still, almost willing my heart to stop in fear of it being heard. Casper’s eyes were shut tight, his attempt to block out the situation. She moved an inch closer, almost grazing the cloak. 

“It’s rude to eavesdrop Harry Potter.” She smiled, before apparating.  
~

Harry’s cloak dropped to the floor as his breath hitched in his throat. There were few times that he had been noticed even with the invisibility cloak on, none since Dumbledore. Casper eyes were bulging out of his head, his skin pale as ice. There had to be a spy within the Ministry that was close to them, Harry was afraid to face the idea that she had sensed him there, without any other intel. Harry felt weighed down, his shoulders tense and aching, the Renovation was a more impending issue than they had anticipated. Casper finally let in a deep breath, crouching down on the floor and hugging his knees into his chest, needing the physical compression to calm himself down. The anxiety of this job never got easier, it plagued Harry and several of his auror friends wherever they went. He had gotten so used to his chest feeling dense and stiff that whenever he did get moments of relief, they were whimsical. Harry bent down towards Casper, placing a hand on his back and rubbing it in circular motions in an attempt to be comforting. 

Once Casper had calmed down, they made their way back to the Ministry, they barely spoke, the air around them dense with emotion. They arrived at Marvin’s office, eager for the day to be over. Both of them felt so beaten up, despite not inciting any form of battle at all. Marvin could tell as soon as he laid eyes on the pair that the news was going to be nothing short of horrid. Harry explained how the event laid out in a quiet voice, he was rarely soft spoken and he could tell that it freaked Marvin out a bit. 

“Alright boys, thank you for your work today. Take the rest of the day off, you can worry about the paperwork next week.” Marvin responded sympathetically. Casper nearly bolted out of the door, Harry could always tell when he was really upset as he became nearly mute. 

“Oh and Harry, I would appreciate it if you kept what you heard about Lucius a secret from Draco.” Marvin threw out halfheartedly. Harry stopped mid-way out the door. 

“What?”

“I’d appreciate it if you kept the fact that the Malfoy family is a target to yourself. I don’t need a crazy Draco stomping into my office first thing Monday morning.” Marvin responded, not even bothering to look up from his work.

“No offence sir, but I think Malfoy has a right to know if his family is in danger, I’m sorry but I can’t agree to keeping that from him, no matter the inconvenience it may cause the Ministry.” Harry seethed. He didn’t adore Malfoy but that didn’t mean he lacked all empathy. Marvin eyed Harry warningly. 

“I don’t think you’re understanding Harry. This isn’t up to your discretion. You will do as I say and Malfoy does not hear a word about this, you hear me? If Draco interferes with this case in any way, it’ll be your job on the line. I think it’s best you went home now.” Harry stared at Marvin in shock. He had very rarely spoken to Harry in that tone and although it was usually warranted, this time felt unnecessarily cruel. He decided to take Marvin’s advice and leave before he said anything he would regret. He slammed the door on his way out, all his previous anxiety turning into rage. 

Harry stomped through the halls of the Ministry. How could Marvin even suggest that Harry keep this from Draco? And threaten his job? Harry wasn’t sure if it was entitlement, but he was sure that the last person to lose their job in the auror department would be him. He apparated home, shoving his keys through the lock, and slamming the door behind him as he entered. He attempted to calm himself down using deep breaths, but the effect was miniscule. He walked down the hall, messaging his temple. He peered into Draco’s room, the door was slightly ajar, the room was dark and the sheets were messy, clothes on the floor but Draco nowhere to be seen. If Harry had to deal with kicking out one of Draco’s one night stands right now he might actually lose it. He prepared his voice for more yelling while walking into the kitchen. But the only thing his eyes were greeted by was Draco hunched over a glass of scotch, a half empty bottle no further than an arm's length away. He was wearing a dark grey sweatsuit and his hair was dirty and unkept. He had never seen Draco so undone. 

“Hello Potter” Draco said as he peeked over his shoulder, his voice hoarse and face pale and drained. Harry wasn’t sure how to respond, it was obvious something was wrong. Maybe he somehow found out about his parents. 

“How were your silly little auror tasks today?” Harry could tell that he was far past tipsy, noticing him swaying lightly in his chair. Harry debated going back into his room, it felt unfitting after he had so adamantly defended him at work. 

“I’d rather not talk about it” He responded, he walked across the kitchen and reached into his cabinet, getting out a scotch glass. He pulled out a chair next to Draco and sat down, pouring himself a drink. Draco stiffened slightly, probably still not used to being in such close proximity to Harry. 

“Suit yourself.” Draco slurred, taking another swig of his drink. Harry brought his own glass up to his lips, thinking about the last time they had talked with Draco this drunk. It was at Noah and Aurora’s wedding and he remembered Draco leaning in a little too close, if Harry was any drunker he probably would have made his own advances on him. He didn’t have too many people he knew at the wedding besides Casper and he had had a rough day at work the night before. Thinking about it now, Harry wasn’t in too different of a situation right now. 

“You know, if you were going to drain my liquor cabinet, you could’ve at least texted. I would have picked up replacements on the way home.” Harry said, although he honestly didn’t really care, he was just trying to make conversation. 

“I don’t have your number.” Draco hiccuped, rubbing his eyes. 

“Oh. Right.” The air got awkward. 

“Well, let's fix that then” Harry reached over towards Draco’s phone, Draco stared at him like he was crazy. Harry just chuckled and got him to unlock the phone, opening up the contacts app and putting his number in. 

“There you go” Harry grinned, knowing he had caught Draco off guard. They stayed quiet for a while, it wasn’t as uncomfortable anymore. Harry rose to his feet, walking over to his record player that one of his exes bought him. The guy was a pretentious prick but he liked the way the music sounded on record so he kept it. He played some soft music, careful not to pick anything too sensual, before heading back to sit next to Draco. 

“You’re usually not this nice” Draco responded, glancing over at Harry. It was the first time they made direct eye contact that night for more than a split second. He saw how Draco’s eyes were red, and he had bags under his eyes, something he never pictured Draco having before. He wasn’t sure how to reply back to him, he himself didn’t know why he was being so nonchalant with him. 

“Needed a drink too... I guess.” He knew that was a half assed answer, but he couldn’t tell him he had fought for him at work and now felt a certain obligation to be nice to him. Draco just nodded, sliding over the bottle of liquor against the granite counters, and refilling Harry’s drink, looking up at Harry through his eyebrows towards the end. His stomach churned at the eye contact, he gulped down the entirety of the contents in his glass to suppress it down, before edging it towards Draco for another refill. 

Draco got up and started swaying to the music, humming along quietly. Harry laughed as he took another sip, feeling much looser and calmer than the beginning of the night. He felt Draco come up behind him but he kept his body forward over the counter. Draco slumped his body over Harry’s back, closing his eyes. Harry’s nerves shot up along his spine, he held his breath before releasing it cautiously, as if there was no more air to breathe. 

“What are you doing?” Harry questioned, feeling strange by the unfamiliar pressure that Draco’s body brought. 

“Jusss lying down, how come you’re always so grumpy? Where’s that ol’ Gryffindor spirit?” Draco slurred, his body rolling side to side along Harry’s spine as he spoke. 

“I am not always grumpy, just a little stressed out is all.” Harry protested, trying to keep a laugh from escaping his mouth, he couldn’t stop a smile from coming up on his face. He was glad he was facing away from Draco. 

“Ohhh boy, stress is a killer!” Draco sprung up before turning around, and bringing his mouth to Harry’s ear. Harry’s body sprung around and placed his hands on Draco’s shoulders, forcing space in between the two. 

“Alrightttt there, let’s get you to the couch, okay?” Harry led Draco carefully to the couch, careful to maintain the distance between them. Draco shut his eyes and flopped down. Harry took a seat across from him, crossing his legs. He was on his fourth glass of scotch, his face was feeling warm and he could feel his inhibitions falter. 

“Do you ever feel down, Harry?” Draco asked, his eyes still closed. 

“From time to time.” Harry said. It wasn’t entirely false, he had his fair share of mental health issues. 

“You know, I’ve had my struggles right? Never been that bad. I was a relatively happy child. But recently, those depressive episodes just keep on kicking you know?” Harry was caught off guard. He didn’t take Draco for one to be struggling with similar issues to Harry, that must have been why his room was so unkept. Harry was terrible at consoling people, he felt like he never had the right words to say. He just stayed quiet. 

“I had one today, as you may have guessed” Draco mumbled as he used his hand to show off his unlike him attire.

“Hadn’t had one this bad since Noah’s wedding, and you know how that one went” Draco said, his eyes widening for dramatic effect. Harry felt a tinge of guilt pulling at his chest, he felt wrong for not telling him about his parents, he rationalized it by convincing himself it would make Draco’s mental health worse, not to mention Harry would lose his job. 

“I’ve got something for you.” Harry finally said, rising from his seat. Draco’s expression grew curious. Harry motioned for him to stay seated as he walked into his office. He unlocked a drawer by his table, reaching in for a red pack of cigarettes that he kept for “emergencies”. Which was pretty much just anytime he felt he needed one. He walked back into the living room with his hands behind his back, showing off the cigarettes once Draco looked. Draco’s eyes lit up and his mouth upturned into a smile, he ran up from his seat snatching the box from Harry’s hands and running over towards the balcony. 

“Addict.” Harry shook his head, chuckling. 

Harry finished off his drink, now drunk, and followed Draco out onto the balcony. Draco already had a cigarette in his mouth, looking over at Harry, realizing he forgot a lighter. Harry pulled one out of his pocket, and lit his cigarette before grabbing one for himself. The breeze was sharp and cool, and worsened since they were on a higher floor of the apartment building. Draco shivered, pressing up against Harry’s shoulder, so their arms were shoved side by side. Harry ignored his stomach and continued taking puffs of his cigarette. Draco was already putting out his first cigarette and reaching for a second. 

“Merlin, Malfoy. Relentless are we?” Harry teased, pulling the box from out of Draco’s reach 

“Oh come on, I only have them when I’m plastered. It doesn’t count” Draco said, reaching over Harry’s body and grabbing another. 

“That’s not much considering you’ve been drunk nearly every time I’ve seen you the last couple months.” Harry lit his second cigarette, watching intently as Draco sucked in the smoke. 

“Let’s just say it wasn’t fun watching your friend or fuck buddy - I don’t know - get married” Draco sighed, his eyes staring out at the skyline. Harry nodded, they were back to a comfortable silence. Harry tucked his hands under his arms for warmth as they leaned on the balcony railing, their arms still pressed together. The evening had actually made Harry feel better, he had almost forgotten about his work from earlier in the day, glad to have the distraction of someone to talk to when he got home. He had spent far too many nights getting drunk on his own to try and numb his pain before, this was far more effective. Draco threw the butt of the smoke into the ashtray. He turned his body towards Harry’s, leaning in so their torso’s were inches apart. Harry’s heart rate sped up. Draco was looking down at his hands, which rode up the side of Harry’s arm. Harry leaned his head back with a grunt, looking up at the sky, his throat feeling lodged. He knew hooking up with Malfoy right now would be a bad idea, for both of them, yet when he looked down at Draco, his mind seemed to fog. Draco took half a step forward, bringing their faces closer together, and looking down at Harry’s lips. Harry leaned forward, their noses touching. He turned his head slightly to the left, grazing past Draco’s face and leaning further forward to put out the rest of his cigarette. 

“We should go to bed.” Harry said, taking a step back. He was already half hard and he amazed himself at the self control he was able to have. Draco turned back towards the balcony, continuing to look over. Harry made his way back into the apartment, opening up the screen door to step in. 

“Hey Harry” Harry turned around, not sure what he wanted Draco to say. 

“Thanks for letting me stay here.” Draco said, not turning around.

“You’re welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah! I loved writing this chapter, this'll be the last chapter from Harry's POV for a while. Let me know your thoughts in the comments as always! :))


	8. chapter 8

Draco rolled over on the bed, eyes still shut yet burning. He felt incredibly drained from the day before, his emotional state had taken a toll on him and the copious amounts of drinking didn’t help either. He cringed as he thought about his behaviour from the night before, being all giddy and flirtatious with Harry was definitely out of line. He was glad that nothing happened, but still annoyed at the leftover sexual tension that he was feeling, a tent formed with his sheets, proving just how much he needed that hookup with Harry last night. He hadn’t gotten laid in a while - well, realistically it had only been a few weeks - but for Draco that felt like eons. 

Draco reeked of alcohol, smelling it seep out of his pores. He groaned as he turned over onto his side, rubbing his eyes with the base of his palms. He threw his feet over the bed, steadying himself with his arms on either side. He was wearing just his boxers and an old shirt from a quidditch match that he had gone to see with his dad. As he walked out of the room, walking past the kitchen he saw two glasses and an empty bottle of scotch, paired with a full ashtray on the dining room table. He sighed out loud at the sight, reminders of last night creeping back into his head. He walked into the washroom, turning on the shower and letting the steam fill up the room. The water hitting his back felt incredibly cleansing, he began to feel the grime from the day before begin to clean off. He thought back to his arm against Harry’s over the balcony, how close he had gotten to his face. He looked down at his half hard cock, shaking his head at how turned on that prick makes him. He continued on with his shower routine, washing his hair and body, hoping that somehow this problem would leave by the end of the shower. Yet the images of last night kept creeping into his head, even though nothing happened, the tension alone was enough. He slid his hand down his abdomen, grazing his hip bones and running his hand down his thigh. His dick leaked with precum, washed away quickly by the hot water. He wrapped his hand around the length, beginning to pump up and down in a rhythmic motion, picturing it was Harry’s mouth that was around him. He let a groan escape his lips, slapping his free hand over his mouth to stifle the sound. He heard a loud knock at the door.

“Malfoy! Some of us have to shower too, you know?” He heard Harry from outside the washroom, his voice huskier in the morning, sending Draco over the edge, his dick twitching as he came in his hand, holding onto the shower wall for support. Fuck. He muttered underneath his breath. 

“One second!” Draco yelled out, washing off his body for the second time. He turned the water off, reaching for his towel and wrapping it around his waist, his hair dripping slowly down his back. Unsure if Harry had heard him, particularly towards the end when it was becoming increasingly more difficult to keep himself quiet. Turning the door knob, he was Harry waiting patiently outside the door, he looked up from his phone, his eyebrows darting up slightly. Harry’s eyes flashed quickly across Draco’s body, enough for him to notice. He stepped to the side, making way for him to walk through the door, continuing on into his room without another word. 

~

The air was warm and welcoming in London. The sky was blue, the sun radiating light and flashing off of reflective buildings. Draco had left the apartment without another word to Harry, unwilling to prolong the few interactions that they did have, in fear of repeating any of the thoughts he had today in the shower. Whenever the sun was beaming and the city was illuminated, Draco’s mood felt exponentially better, that paired with the shower he had taken that washed off the grime and memories of last night, had Draco strolling through the streets with a grin. He was on his way to Aaron’s apartment, planning on stopping by a coffee shop beforehand. 

The shop he ended up choosing was a quaint and rustic looking coffee shop not 5 minutes away from Aaron’s place. The exposed red brick worn and weathered, holding a sign stating “Gelber’s Coffee” in a boxy font. Draco found himself drawn to the establishment, appreciating its ability to hide in plain sight. The interior was riddled with plants of all different sizes, the jungle welcoming him into its arms. The hardware was all copper, matching nicely with the store’s colour scheme. He walked up to the barista, a taller man in his mid 20s, with dark hair and a wide build. As Draco ordered, he felt the eyes of the barista trail his body, flashing back to maintain intense eye contact whenever Draco’s eyes gazed back towards him instead of the menu on the wall. He waited patiently at the other end of the counter as the barista prepared his order, glancing over his shoulder periodically to see Draco people watching out the window. Draco grabbed the tray of two coffees that the other man slid over, attaching a piece of paper with his number to the cups, giving Draco a slight wink before turning around and returning to work. He scoffed as he walked out of the shop, throwing away the paper at the nearest garbage can. Although the man was attractive and very much his type, Draco had no interest in dating muggles, besides a good shag every once in a while, dating someone who wasn’t in the wizarding world was not something that sounded appealing to him. 

Draco knocked on the light wood door that led to Aaron’s apartment, his ear picking up the shoeless footsteps that approached the door before it unlocked. He greeted Aaron, passing him his coffee and slipping into his couch, making himself comfortable. Aaron laughed at Draco’s ability to feel at home at his apartment, especially when he wasn’t one to be this casual when visiting another home, his parents would always scowl him for it as a child. 

“How’s Harry Potter land treating you?” Aaron asked, sitting down on the couch next to Draco. 

“Oh Merlin, don’t even get me started” Draco stated, placing his hands over his face to hide the blush that was rising to his cheeks.

“That bad, huh?”

“Not exactly..” Draco stumbled, avoiding eye contact in fear of Aaron reading right through him. Aaron had a perplexed look on his face, confused as to when the pure hatred for Potter had turned into something bearable. 

“We had… a moment of sorts.” he sighed, meeting Aaron’s eyes for the first time. He continued to explain how he was in a deep depressive episode when Harry came home, leading to both of them getting drunker than necessary and nearly kissed on the balcony. He chose to leave out the part about him jacking off in the shower thinking about Potter, and more specifically while Potter was waiting outside of the door. He figured that would make him seem a little more interested than he actually was. He was just desperate for a shag. That’s all. 

When his story came to an end, Aaron’s face was solemn and distant, his responses turning short and coarse. Draco was too deep in thought about how Harry would look naked to notice. 

“So are you going to sleep with him then?” Aaron questioned. Now he was the one avoiding eye contact. 

Draco sat back further in his seat, contemplating. “No.” Aaron’s chest lost some of its stiffness, his shoulders falling slightly.

“It was just a drunken thing. He was just the nearest person” Draco shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. He wasn’t completely sure if what he was saying was true, but that had been the case with nearly everyone else he had slept with so he was sure that it was the same for Potter as well. 

“Alright. I’m not sure it’s a good idea either. Conflict of interest or something like that” Aaron joked, his mouth barely upturned into a smile. Draco just nodded. 

They spent the next couple of hours continuing to catch up on each other's lives, Aaron had been given an exciting new project at work, one he felt really pushed his potions skills and forced him to become more innovative. Draco barely remembered the last time he had really been invested with work, most of the time he floated through the day, doing the same mundane potions over and over. Although he was eager for an opportunity like Aaron’s, he also knew he didn’t have the mental capacity to throw himself into his work right now. They talked about his depressive episode, and what triggered it. He wasn’t entirely sure as it was a plethora of things, but he was used to the chemical imbalance in his head that caused him to experience days like yesterday quite frequently. Aaron was usually around to bring him food and comfort him through the day, but yesterday forced Draco into a complete shut down for the majority of the day, which led him to be unable to even want to call Aaron. 

They got onto the conversation of clubbing and gay bars. Draco had never known who Aaron was interested in, whether it be girls or boys, he’s mentioned having girlfriends in the past, but had never been too enthusiastic about them. 

“Let’s go to a club tonight” Aaron urged, his body language shifting forward in anticipation. He rarely saw Aaron this excited about going out, he was usually more of a stay at home type. 

“Sure… why the sudden eagerness? You hate clubs.” Draco questioned, genuinely curious. 

“I do not! I just have to be in the mood.” Aaron insisted. Draco nodded in agreement, not fully convinced. 

~

The roughness of the fabric slid up his legs as Draco put on his jeans, the pants a little tight around his thighs, having been borrowed. He fixed his hair in the mirror, scrunching it to make it seem effortless and unkept. Him and Aaron had spent the day together, going to get lunch at a bistro down the street and watching a movie before beginning getting ready for the night. He had already had a few drinks to ensure he was a little tipsy before getting to the club, unwilling to pay for too many overpriced drinks. They had chosen to go to Essence, a gay club in downtown London. Aaron had allowed Draco to choose the place as he had no interest in hooking up with anyone that night, Draco didn’t either but always wanted to have the choice. 

Aaron knocked on the door, calling him out for the last shot before they headed out. Draco scurried to the door, kicking on a boot onto his foot. Aaron admired his pants on Draco’s frame, complimenting him on his appearance before leading him into the kitchen. They clicked their shot glasses together, before the burning liquid grazed the back of their throats. Draco had made a potion earlier in the night that allowed them to down the shots without the pungent aftertaste, which made drinking shitty alcohol much easier. They debated apparating to the club but decided to take a taxi instead, well, Aaron basically forced Draco too, concerned so as not to get dismembered on their way there. 

They waited in line for around 15 minutes, the alcohol they had taken at home already taking its effect. It’s been a while since Draco has been clubbing, so the hot air that hit his skin as he walked into the building felt familiar. The music pounding into his ears as he walked past groups of sweaty, intoxicated, bodies. He turned to make sure that Aaron was still behind him, grabbing his hand and leading him further into the dance floor. Draco’s body swayed to the music, the strobe lights illuminating his face periodically, the alcohol adding to the heat of his own skin. He remembered the days from his early twenties when he would take molly with his friends before going, their minds fuzzy and pupils dilated, urging them to be closer to each other. Although his days of MDMA filled nights were over, the experience still felt oddly comforting and freeing. After a while of dancing, they walked towards the bar, needing water and more shots before returning back to the floor. He leaned his body over the bar counter, giving his feet a break from holding up his body. Aaron ordered a round of shots for them, placing a hand on Draco’s back. The bartender slid their shots across the counter, Draco lifting his head and tilting it back as he slipped the alcohol down his throat. Suddenly remembering the warmth of Harry’s arm pressed against his from the night before. He ordered another round of shots, hoping to drink his mind into forgetting.

Aaron nudged his shoulder, shooting his eyes to the side of the bar towards a man in a loose muscle tank with dark messy curls. Draco groaned as he caught sight of his intermittent roommate staring back at him from across the bar. Harry winked at him as he downed the rest of his drink, making his way closer to Aaron and Draco. His mind panicking at the sight, he swallowed his shot and hoped that Harry was simply walking back to the dance floor. He felt the pressure of another body near his back, the heat radiating off of Harry’s chest. He introduced himself to Aaron, who’s face had fallen significantly, even more than Draco’s. 

The rush of bodies welcomed Draco back into the dance floor as he left Harry and Aaron behind, avoiding any conversation with Potter. He grabbed onto the shoulders of the first attractive man he saw and began to dance with him. His arms wrapping around the neck of the taller man as he swayed his hips side to side. Draco turned around, grinding his ass into the other man, forming circles and feeling large hands grip onto his hips. He opened his mouth in false ecstasy, his eyes slightly aflutter to see Harry staring with his mouth slightly agape. Draco wasn’t sure what he was doing, but whoever he was dancing with knew how to move against Draco and he wasn’t complaining. He turned back around, his eyes breaking the contact with Harry’s and kissed the man standing in front of him. His tongue sliding against his lower lip for entry, each forcing hungrily into the other. Their bodies pressing together as Draco felt hands sliding down his back and side. The man broke from the kiss, his mouth hovering over Draco’s ear. 

“Let’s get out of here” A scruffy voice whispered. Draco simply nodded, as the man grabbed his arm gently and led him out of the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii sorry about the later upload i had such a writing block. let me know what you guys think as always. also, would u guys want more smut scenes incorporated throughout the chapters?


	9. chapter 9

On the ride home Draco had come to find out the man’s name was Nick. Being able to see him outside of a setting with flashing strobe lights and sweaty bodies, he was able to take in his appearance more thoroughly. Nick had dark tan skin, with gold undertones that radiated even in the dim lighting at the back of the taxi, his hair shaved closely to his head. They weren’t doing much talking, stealing hungry kisses and waiting impatiently for the car to arrive at Nick’s apartment building. Draco’s mind wandered back to Harry a few times, forcing himself to concentrate on the moment whenever it did. 

Maybe it was the alcohol talking or the night of tireless dancing but Draco was far more flirtatious and bold with his actions than usual, pulling down the pants of the stranger standing in front of him as soon as the door to the apartment closed behind them. He began kissing down his chest, stopping to fixate on his nipples, sucking and biting at them gently, receiving a moan in return. He bit down at his hip, leaving slight tooth marks as he made his way further down to the now fully erect cock. Moans escaped Nick’s mouth as Draco felt the pressure of a hand at the back of his head. Biting down at his inner thighs and being teasingly slow with his movements only received more frustration from the other man, who at this point was all but shoving his cock into Draco’s mouth. Draco complied, stopping right before to look Nick into the eye, his hot breath igniting the nerves in the head of his dick. 

Draco licked up the side of his shaft, impressed by its size. His tongue licked slowly over the tip, groans filling the air. As he was continuing his excruciatingly slow movements, the hand on his head pushed the dick further into Draco’s mouth, hitting the back of his throat, resulting in a slight choke, one that couldn’t be heard over the sound of Nick’s moans. He bobbed his head expertly up and down the length of his cock, using his hand as an extension of his mouth towards the base of the dick, eyes watering slightly from the pressure. Nick pulled his head off of his cock, muttering something like fuck, you’re gonna make me cum in between groans as he lifted Draco off his knees, grabbing his wrist and leading him into the bedroom. 

Nick pushed Draco onto the bed, crawling up on top of him, his hands unbuckling Draco’s belt as his mouth bit at his neck. Draco threw his head back to give him more access, his eyes rolling back into his head in contentment. He felt hands pull off his pants, he leaned slightly forward and slipped his shirt off his back, tossing it to the side of the bed. It was his turn to be teased, he could see the mischievous glint in Nick as he slowed down their pace, placing slow kisses as he trailed down. Draco groaned in frustration, his cock twitching at the thought of being touched. Nick came back up, their faces inches apart as he reached a finger down to the rim of Draco’s ass, watching his face as Draco moaned, leaving harsh scratches down Nick’s back. The cold finger pressed gently against the entrance, slipping in slowly as Draco squirmed at the feeling. 

Nick reached across the bed towards the bedside table, squirting a generous amount of lube into his hand before returning to continue. This time, with the extra slip that the lube gave him, Nick slid his index finger deep into Draco, who’s moans were becoming louder, he was never one to be quiet in the bedroom. He felt more fingers at his entrance, each one stretching him further, his cock leaking with precum. 

Nick took his fingers out, grabbing Draco by the hips and flipping him onto his stomach, his ass up in the air. Draco gripped onto the sheets of the bed as he felt the tip of Nick's dick line up with his ass, groaning at even the slightest pressure as he felt the length of the dick enter further into him. Nick pushed his hips forward, Draco letting out a loud moan, his eyes filling with tears as he felt the cock fill up his stomach. The strokes started off slow, allowing Draco to get used to the sensation and the size, becoming faster and pounding deeper into him, his head thrown back in pleasure, his body glazed with a thin layer of sweat as his walls tightened around Nick. A hand pushed his face down into the sheets, holding his hips as he continued to graze over his prostate, causing Draco’s knuckles to turn white as he gripped the bed, profanities slipping out of his mouth. He felt a pang on his ass, his skin slightly red from the slap, the mixture of pain and pleasure was always something that got Draco closer to the edge. 

Nick took his dick out of Draco and laid down on his back, pulling him on top of him, Draco straddling his hips as he aligned his ass with the tip of his throbbing cock. He lowered down slowly, groaning at the dick filling him up yet again, he rolled his hips up and down the length, his head thrown back with his hands on Nick’s chest. He felt a hand grab the length of his own cock, stroking it up and down to the rhythm of his grinding. The position allowed for Nick’s cock to fill him up deeper, hitting his prostate nearly every time, resulting in a painful pleasure that had his dick twitching in need to cum. He felt Nick’s own cock pulsing inside him, knowing he was close to finishing. Draco sped up slightly, rolling his hips over the dick, his head blind with heat as he felt his dick release a spread of cum onto Nick’s chest, his eyes rolling back and mouth letting out a series of loud moans. He continued the rhythm even after he came, seeing Nick close to the edge and tightening his walls around his length. Draco groaned as he felt his large hands around his hips, pounding his dick further into Draco before he felt himself being filled with hot liquid as Nick came into his ass. 

Draco flopped down next to Nick on the bed, grabbing a towel from the bedside table and passing it to the man next to him. 

“Sorry about your chest.” Draco said, short of breath. 

“It’s fine” Nick groaned, cleaning himself off before turning around to fall asleep. 

~

The next morning Draco woke up earlier than usual to slip out of the apartment before Nick could wake up. He hated the sober small talk that came after a night of sex so it was best to avoid it all together. He got dressed in last night's clothes, his head filled with pressure that felt like the onset of a brutal headache. He walked out into the main living space of the apartment, actually taking it in for the first time. There was a mid-century modern style to the place, making Draco question how he could have slept with someone with so little taste. He shakes his head in disapproval as he pours himself a glass of water, searching for a piece of paper to write a brief goodbye on. He wrote a sloppy “Had fun last night xx” on a sticky note before tying up his shoes and stepping out the door. 

The weather in London was cloudy and gloomy, not providing him with any relief from his already painful headache. Despite the darker weather, his eyes still burned with the brightness of everyday life. He stopped by a small convenience store to grab a pair of oversized sunglasses to hide behind as he began his trip home. 

“Draco? Is that you?” A soft voice asked as he was trying to choose a pair of sunglasses on a cheap rack. He muttered a string of curses in his head, of course now had to be the time he ran into someone. He turned on the heel of his shoe, seeing Aurora’s bleached blonde hair and small physique looking back at him. He grinned the best he could, knowing it looked incredibly inauthentic as he said, 

“Aurora! What a pleasant surprise!” bringing her into a loose half hearted hug. 

“We’ve missed you! Noah talks about you constantly!” That felt like Draco’s cue to leave. He wasn’t in the mood to lie to Aurora about how him and Noah used to shag, especially now that they were married. Curiosity crept into his mind, causing him to wonder about what Noah could have possibly been saying about him, but he brushed off the thought, said his goodbyes to Aurora before checking out and leaving the store. 

Draco slipped into an alleyway before apparating back to Harry’s apartment. 

He unlocked the door, stumbling into the front entrance, he hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he was welcomed by the smell of pancakes and coffee. He followed the smell, desperate for any sort of nutrition, his sunglasses still on to deflect the light away from his burning eyes. Stepping into the kitchen, he was greeted by a bed-head Harry Potter, whistling quietly as he flipped burning pancakes over on the pan, fuck, he muttered to himself, throwing another one into the garbage. Draco leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, watching Harry attempt to cook. It was all very amusing. 

“I don’t think pancakes are supposed to be burned Potter.” Draco teased, his mouth up turning into a smile. Harry turned around startled, pulling his wand out in defence. His shoulders relaxed as he realized who it was, his face falling back to one of indifference and his body turning back to the stove. 

“I doubt you could do much better, used to house elves making the perfect breakfast for you, eh Malfoy?” Harry spat annoyingly from across the kitchen. Draco walked up to behind Harry. 

“As a matter of fact, I love cooking. Why don’t you pass me the spatula before you set this whole apartment on fire, ok?” He asked, his voice soft. He had no energy to argue with Potter today, his hand grabbing the spatula from his and signalling for him to go and sit at the table. 

Harry complied, despite his frustrated look. Draco wasn’t sure what had gotten him all pissed but he was not in the state to deal with an angsty Potter. He quickly made the pancakes, each of them glazed in a perfectly golden crust, and set them onto two plates for the pair of them to eat. He figured if he fed Harry it might have made him a little less aggressive and on edge. 

Placing the plates down onto the table, Draco flinched as he sat down on the chair, his ass feeling slightly bruised from his adventures from the night before. This caused a questioning look to form on Harry’s face, before one of realization, followed by a slight laugh. 

“Oh shut up, Potter” Draco retorted, his cheeks slightly reddening. 

“Should’ve known you would be a bottom” Harry stated, pouring syrup over his pancakes. Draco punched his arm in response, giggling lightly over the interaction. 

~

The last two weeks had gone by uneventfully, Draco had gotten closer to Harry than he thought possible, not that they knew much about each other or were even super open, but they were comfortable incorporating the other into their routine. Draco would get home after work and make them dinner, they would share stories about their day, sometimes they would sit in silence if one of them was in a worse mood than usual. 

Maybe Draco had grown delusional and Harry was only putting up with him because he was required to for work, but at times he thought they were actually friends, the time they spent together was usually pleasant. 

It was another typical day after work, Draco had stopped by a nearby grocery store to pick up some ingredients for dinner. He had invited Marie and Olive, Harry said he would leave the apartment for the evening to give them some time alone. The fluorescent lighting in the store was illuminating a wide array of cheeses that he was stuck choosing between, growing more wary of the time by the second. He grabbed a handful of random feta’s and gouda cheeses, rushing to get home in time to prepare for their arrival. Rushing home, he apparated to the door of the apartment, scurrying to the kitchen to prepare. 

Draco opened the balcony door. Summer was drawing to an end and the cool autumn breeze was beginning to creep in during the evening. The scents of his cooking filled the air, the scent lingering through the hallway of the apartment complex. He played music as he cooked, a soft concerto playfully serenading the room. Harry stepped out of his room, noticing Draco in the kitchen, 

“Sorry, I’m just heading out now, I won’t bother you guys.” He called out, making his way to the front door. Feelings of embarrassment all of a sudden rose in Draco, he was kicking Potter out of his own apartment to host friends. If his mother had ever known about this, she would never let him hear the end of it, going on about how disrespectful and ill mannered his behaviour was. 

“Hey Potter!” Draco spoke over his shoulder, Harry peeked his head out of the hall in response.

“Why don’t you join us?” Draco asked, switching between looking at Harry and back at the pot on the stove, making sure it didn’t burn. 

Harry stared back at Draco for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude” Now looking more awkward, his arms crossing his chest. 

“Definitely, it's no bother at all.” Draco replied, softening his expression to exude genuineness. Harry nodded slowly, going back into his room to change into more appropriate dinner party attire. 

By the time Marie and Oliver had arrived, Harry and Draco had set the dinner table, finished cooking, and had several bottles of wine aerating and ready to be drank. Draco greeted them warmly at the front door, bringing them both into wide embraces. Harry stood awkwardly behind Draco, looking like a significant other meeting his boyfriend’s parents for the first time. As the night progressed however, he warmed up, beginning to make his usual sly remarks and bonding with Oliver over their positions as aurors. 

Draco was enjoying the banter they participated in over dinner, taking sips of his wine that left him feeling looser and more comfortable, the stress from earlier in the evening fading away. It was nice to see Harry bonding with Marie and Oliver, he was concerned when he first offered that he stay that it would be awkward, none of them finding anything in common. He should have known that the Boy Who Lived could get along with nearly anyone, Draco included. 

He walked into the kitchen for a refill on his glass, Marie following him to do the same. 

“That Harry Potter really is a hoot! I can see what all the hype is about” Marie exclaimed to Draco, her cheeks slightly pink from the alcohol. Draco nodded in agreement, unsure what his response was supposed to be. 

“I think he fancies you” She said, swirling the wine around in her glass before taking a sip. Draco’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, his own cheeks now growing pink.

“I don’t think so, we’ve just become friends of sorts” he replied. He wasn’t even sure if they were, they floated in this in between, a mixture of friendship and past rivalry. 

“Perhaps that’s just what you feel, but it doesn’t take a genius to notice how he looks at you.” Marie filled Draco’s glass and walked back to the table. 

Draco stood for a few seconds, contemplating her words before following her. As he sat back down in his seat he looked at Harry, his warm brown hair cascading over his forehead, the light from the candles they had lit hitting his face as he laughed at something Oliver said. Harry looked over at Draco as if he could feel eyes on him, giving him a small smile, lingering for just a moment too long before turning back to his conversation. 

As Marie and Oliver got ready to leave, stumbling slightly from the wine, they said their goodbyes to both Harry and Draco, this time bringing Harry into a hug as well, promising to keep in touch. Marie groaned as she put her heels back on, mumbling something about the patriarchy. Draco stood back, watching as Harry and Oliver exchanged phone numbers, Harry looking giddy like a child. Marie caught his eye, giving him a knowing wink before grabbing Oliver and leaving the apartment, blowing kisses left and right. 

Once they had left, Harry and Draco went back to the dining room, cleaning up the remnants of their night, several wine bottles and enough empty plates of food to fill up their sink. There was an unspoken comfort in between them, both of them full with food and fuzzy with wine, the cool breeze still floating in from the agape balcony door. Draco thought about kissing Harry. Not in a sexual way, or even in a romantic way. He just wanted to express his liking towards him, somewhere in between friends and lovers. They always fell somewhere in between. Instead he brushed the hair off of Harry’s face, an act that was no more innocent than a kiss. 

“I think they liked you” Draco spoke softly, placing his hand back at his side but maintaining the close distance in between them. Harry stared into his eyes, his expression soft and longing. 

They finished cleaning and went back into their respective rooms. Draco shutting the door behind him and leaning against it. He thought of what would happen if he ever did kiss Harry. How he would respond and if they would have sex. Although the idea warmed him, he knew that they were able to coexist only because they hadn’t crossed that line, he feared that if he did, nothing good would come out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter, especially the ending. How do you guys feel about Harry and Draco so far? Let me know your thoughts :))


	10. chapter 10

Autumn in London always sparked melancholy feelings in Draco. It was far easier to stay positive and content in the baking heat of summer, even the worst of days able to be fixed with a walk outside where warmth wrapped his body like a blanket. The colder seasons didn’t bring that sort of comfort. 

It was mid-October, it had been over a month since the dinner party with Marie and Oliver, and his relationship with Harry had only grown foggier. They would spend evenings together over drinks that felt more intimate than any sexual relationship he’d ever had. 

Sometimes, Draco would rest his hand atop of Harry’s, just for a few seconds, playing it off as a friendly embrace while they laughed. They would have lingering moments like these that always ended too soon, both of them aware of the deeper meaning behind these touches, but neither of them willing to acknowledge it. Draco would stay up thinking about his feelings towards Harry. They weren’t solely romantic or sexual, their bond felt like one that transcended the earthly senses. He would never be able to understand it and would go to bed frustrated at the thought. He liked to think that Harry was in bed attempting to make sense of their relationship himself, that they had a bond that stayed with them even when they were apart. 

Sitting in his office chair at work, Draco was deep in contemplative thought, going over the interactions between him and Harry that stood out to him. Aaron knocked lightly on the door, a pointless act as it was already half open. 

“Do you want to go out for lunch?” Aaron asked. 

They hadn’t been nearly as close lately, Draco spending most of his time either on his own or with Harry. It made him feel like a bad friend, maybe he was. 

“Sure, let me just get my stuff, I’ll meet you by the entrance.” Aaron nodded, his appearance lately has been more and more solemn. Draco felt he should be concerned, but whenever he asked Aaron about it directly, he just avoided the question or changed the subject. After a while, Draco stopped asking. 

They were going to a lunch bistro a few blocks away from his office, he snuggled his face into his scarf, attempting to hide his face from the wind. They had sat down near the back of the establishment, tucked away into a corner. 

“How have you been?” Aaron asked eagerly. 

“This Potter thing has been killing me.” Draco grunted, he had explained his growing feelings for Harry to Aaron a few weeks back. It hadn’t been met with as much surprise as he had expected, but Aaron has been avoidant of the subject since then. He could have sworn he saw Aaron roll his eyes, he decided on giving him the benefit of the doubt. 

“Can we talk about literally anything other than Harry please?”

“Um… sure. How have things been with the potions project you’ve been working on?” Draco questioned, confused by the sudden hostility. 

“It got cancelled actually. The client ran out of funding, back to just the regular stuff now.” Aaron responded, thanking the waitress as she set down their lunches in front of them. 

“I’m sorry, I know you were really excited about it.” 

Aaron nodded and they began eating their lunch silently, only the sounds of forks clunking on plates, and other restaurant ambiance. 

Draco’s mind trailed off to a weekend in September, him and Harry had been watching an endless amount of television, their minds going numb from the stuff. It was Draco that suggested it, assuring Harry that he had the number of a guy on his phone and they could meet him in probably under 30 minutes. Harry wasn’t one to protest, making Draco promise not to tell Hermione or else she would have his head on a stick.

Apparently, Harry went through a phase where he smoked pot a lot, it was in his last year at Hogwarts, he mainly used it to dull the memories of the war. Hermione was convinced it was becoming a dependency, making Harry swear he would never touch the substance again. Obviously, he had, just occasionally now at parties. Draco found this funny, he hadn’t pictured Harry to be a stoner but the title seemed to fit him. 

Just as was promised, they sat on the same couch 30 minutes later, Draco with a joint in hand. They decided on stepping out onto the balcony to smoke, each taking turns breathing in the smoke. He remembered how Harry had lit the joint, it was in the early evening and the sun was golden against his skin, highlighting his cheekbones making him look sharp and angular, accentuated by the sucking motion as he pulled at the smoke. The tint of the sun still kept a warm feel to his face, he probably stared at his face for far too long, Harry was probably aware of this but neither of them said anything. They looked out over his balcony as they smoked, watching the sun cascade onto the stone buildings, creating sharp lights and darks in the skyline. Draco would wonder about how many different lives were being lived and how minuscule he felt, watching couples walk hand in hand, dogs wagging their tails as their owners took them on walks. 

The effect settled in not minutes after they walked inside, Draco’s muscles began to feel heavy and solid, his body feeling consumed by the couch. His eyes shifted around the room, his brain processing information just a split second later than his usual. They watched movies for the rest of the night, laughing at jokes he usually wouldn’t find funny. Draco felt effortlessly happy, besides random waves of anxiety he was feeling light, glancing over at Harry through heavy eyelids. 

At one point they had migrated to the kitchen, determined to create some sort of makeshift snack despite having a desperate lack of groceries. It took them far longer than necessary, laughing fits kept slowing their efficiency down. Draco was laughing so hard his jaw was aching, his stomach contracting as he bent over, grabbing Harry’s shoulder to stabilize himself. 

Eventually, they both fell asleep on the couch. Draco wished he had kissed Harry that night. He wished he had kissed him on multiple occasions. Although he knew that even if Harry was standing right in front of him now, he still wouldn’t do anything. He was too afraid of what that would mean for them, their relationship was too fragile, a vase made of thin glass that Draco was trying desperately not to drop. 

“I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I know I’ve been weird about you and Harry lately and I don’t really have an excuse. I just want you to know that I’m sorry.” Aaron had been rambling for some time now. Draco hadn’t heard much of it, but accepted his apology anyway. It must have looked in-genuine because of his vacant look, but he was honestly still trying to understand what he was apologizing for in the first place. 

They finished eating and paid, leaving the bistro and returning back to work. 

~

The illusion of their mundane life had been broken when Draco had been called into the Ministry, within the hour his troubles became much bigger than whether or not he should have kissed Harry. In fact, they made those worries seem so minuscule it could have given Draco the confidence to do it, if he hadn’t been so heart wrenchingly distraught. 

He had received the call a few moments after he had gotten back to the office from his lunch with Aaron, an unspoken awkwardness lingering between them as they walked back. Draco was quite eager to get away from their empty conversation when the phone rang. It was Marvin, he sounded calm and collected, not even a hint of worry in his voice which made Draco feel secure. His boss had excused him from the rest of the work day, understanding the particular situation that he was in. 

Once he arrived at the Ministry, he got some wide-eyed glances, probably just alarmed that an ex death eater was in their presence but Draco has long since dropped that title so the ignorant glances of others didn’t bother him as much anymore. As he approached the door of the office, he felt at ease, sure that this would be just another routine checkup to make sure that he and Harry weren’t killing each other. He was trying to decide if he would mention that they were honestly doing the opposite. 

Marvin’s exhausted face met his glance when he walked in, his under eyes dark with a lack of sleep, and his face grey and colourless. Draco was even more secure in his decision to drop the auror program whenever he saw them look so beat up and restless. He closed the door quietly behind him, greeting Marvin with a handshake and taking a seat on the padded velvet chair in front of the desk. 

“Afternoon Draco, thank you for showing up at such quick notice.” Marvin spoke, his voice raspy and quiet sounding. Draco nodded his head in response. 

“I don’t mean to alarm you but we felt it was necessary to inform you of the occurrence.” Draco’s heart rate began to speed up ever so slightly, his throat clenching in anticipation as it always did whenever someone seemed to be about to talk about something important. 

“I’m sure you have overheard conversations at the Ministry that hint at the attack of your apartment being planned. There’s currently a group of death eaters calling themselves the Renovation, that are targeting other death eaters that have renounced the ways of the Dark Lord. They have been targeting them one by one. You and your family have been at the top of that list for a while now, hence why you have been placed under the protection of Potter.” Draco scoffed internally at this, his past rivalry against Potter convincing him that he definitely didn’t need Potter’s protection, despite how friendly they had gotten. Still, his pulse rate increased and he found it hard to swallow. 

“Unfortunately, your mother and father have recently gotten captured by this group. We believe they are being held at the Renovation headquarters, as far as we know, they are alive.” 

“Fuck.” Draco murmured under his breath as he dropped his head, feelings of worry and guilt flooding his body, making it difficult for him to hear or even care about anything else Marvin was saying. 

“We are sorry that this is happening and we are doing everything we can to save them, but a raid into their main building takes time to plan. We have to choose the right moment.” Marvin spoke, his arms crossed against his chest. 

Draco was livid, 

“The right moment? Are you fucking kidding me?” he spat. Rage boiling underneath his skin. 

“I understand that you must be upset Draco but -”

“I don’t think you understand Marvin. If this was one of your little Ministry buggers, you would have been on your way to the Renovation as we spoke. Don’t pretend that you have to choose the right fucking moment just because the hostages happen to be Malfoy's.” Draco was over listening to his bullshit. He had risen from his chair halfway through the argument and was now storming out of the door, slamming it loudly as he exited, the sound echoing through the hall. 

Draco marched down the hall, displacing his feelings of grief and pain with anger. He spotted Harry a ways down the hall, whose face lit up as he saw Draco, though it quickly faded as he saw the rage boil out of his skin as he continued to storm down the hall. 

“Draco, are you okay?” Harry asked as Draco got closer, attempting to place a hand on his shoulder. Draco shrugged it away, pushing Harry to the side as he continued walking. He wasn’t sure why he was mad at Harry but he felt the need to push this anger onto somebody, anybody. 

~

The feelings that Draco was trying so desperately to push away came flooding back as soon as he was alone. He felt broken and bruised in a way he had never felt before. He had been ignoring his parents for years, mailing back any letter his mom tried to send him, ignoring phone calls. How dare he feel any sort of pain for them when he had been the source of that pain for so many years? Draco felt guilt and hatred for his behaviours. He felt angry at the Ministry too, if they had known that they were targets for so long why didn’t they warn them? Why didn't they let Draco know what was happening? It was his own damn parents. Draco felt a hole form in his chest, swallowing up any goodness he felt he had in him. 

He had been sitting at the island in the kitchen for 20 minutes. Lathering himself in self loathing, reevaluating every selfish and hateful decision he had ever made. This made living with himself feel incredibly difficult. He was filled with so many emotions, ones that made his heart throb in anguish, ones he hadn’t allowed himself to feel out of self preservation. He walked over to the liquor cabinet, turning to alcohol once again to attempt to numb himself out. 

By the time Harry got home, Draco had been a bottle of scotch deep into his self medicating journey. Although he quickly found that the alcohol was doing little to no good to lessening his emotions, he continued to drink just for the disoriented feeling it provided him with, making him feel that maybe he wasn’t real and this wasn’t happening. 

As Harry walked into the kitchen, he looked at Draco with such pity. Who wouldn’t, Draco thought, aware of his appearance. He was hunched over a bottle of scotch, his eyes red and face pale, an aura of depression covering him like a cloud. 

“I heard what happened.” Harry said, waiting for a response that never came.

“I’m sorry.” Draco avoided eye contact, pretending to not hear Harry. He was trying hard not to acknowledge his own pain, and having Harry near made that more difficult. 

“Did you know? About my parents?” Draco finally said, wary of the response as he took another burning sip out of the bottle. Harry stayed quiet for a while, as if contemplating saying anything at all. 

“No.” 

A wave of relief washed over Draco and he slumped further into his chair. He couldn’t handle being mad at Harry right now, he needed someone. Harry came and sat next to him, placing a tender arm on his back as Draco breathed heavily. 

Harry brought Draco closer to him, enwrapping him in a tight hug. The hug felt genuine and filled with love, the kind of pressure that Draco hadn’t received in years. The close embrace from Harry caused Draco to fill back up with emotion, it became so overwhelming that he began crying aggressively into his shoulder for the first time that night, his body shaking. It was the kind of cry that made it hard to catch your breath, your inhales hitching in your throat whenever you tried. 

Harry rubbed his hands over Draco’s head, keeping the tight pressure around his body as Draco continued to sob. He cried until he felt he had nothing left inside of him, until he was drained. His red, swollen eyes, lifted. He rubbed the palm of his hand into his eyes in an attempt to hide the redness of his face, a feeble attempt considering Harry had already seen it. 

Draco met Harry’s eyes for the first time that night, the way that Harry was looking at him made him want to look away. The feeling was like someone was looking at him and really seeing him for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHhh! How do you guys feel about Harry lying? What do you think gonna happen next?


End file.
